Omaha Magazine October 2024 - The Education Issue

Experience

5,000 years of human creativity across three

100 works new to the collection on view. Three outstanding exhibitions. Expanded cafe and shop, plus redesigned sculpture gardens. Open Tuesday through Sunday.

Free general admission to all, always.

high school through career entry, this program offers unparalleled support, financial aid, and career development opportunities, transforming lives one student at a time.

Lastly, get acquainted with the captivating works of paper artist Susan Knight, whose intricate cutouts explore the geography of Nebraska’s river system. Her water-themed art, inspired by scientific concepts and collaborations with experts, invites us all to reflect on our connection to the natural world and our responsibility to protect it.

As always, we hope you’ll celebrate the spirit of education in Omaha with us as we highlight the people and programs making an impact today and paving the way for tomorrow. Dive in and discover how our city is cultivating a brighter, more informed future.

Natalie Veloso Associate Editor,

Omaha Publications [email protected]

*Note: The hotel edition of Omaha Magazine has a different cover and does not include all of the editorial content included in the magazine’s full city edition. For more information on our city edition, visit OmahaMagazine.com.

THE USUAL SUSPECTS

003 From the Editor Shaping Omaha Through Education

006 Between the Lines

007 Calendar of Events

028 History Howard Harold Hanson

036 Adventure Jordan Pirtle's Harley Happiness

065 Obviously Omaha Local Orchards

081 Explore! 087 Instagram

088 Not Funny Smells like Pre-Teen Spirit ARTS

012 Film Beaver Lake Productions

014 Music Tim Kasher

018 Literature D. M. Whitaker

022 Art Susan Knight

044 Gen O Meteorologist Michaela Wood

046 Sports Linebacker Christian Jones

054 Profile Danielle Herzog

048 Spotlight Deaf Child Hope

Listen to the entire

and hover over the QR

Omaha Magazine caught up with Joe Starita, an award-winning author and journalist known for his in-depth explorations of Native American history and civil rights. His work has brought to light the voices and stories often overlooked in history, including the remarkable life of Ponca Chief Standing Bear. Starita’s commitment to advocacy and justice is captured in this powerful image, symbolizing his profound impact on both journalism and education.

THE LINES Between

A LOOK AT THREE OMAHA MAGAZINE CONTRIBUTORS

RACHEL BIRDSALL Creative Director

Rachel Birdsall has 15 years of graphic design experience under her belt, mostly in the world of print publishing. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Interactive Media from Dana College and has been making the design world a bit more vibrant ever since. When she's not brainstorming her next big idea or perfecting a print layout, you’ll find Rachel hanging out with her husband, three cats, and two dogs. She’s a big fan of tabletop and board games, which she approaches with the same enthusiasm as her design projects. In her downtime, she’s busy brewing her own mead and cider proving that her creativity knows no bounds, whether it's in the studio or in the kitchen! Her personal motto: There's nothing that can't be bedazzled if you try hard enough.

KYLE EUSTICE Contributing Writer

A career in music seemed inevitable. The daughter of William and Susan Eustice, Kyle grew up in the 1980s, when her father’s band, The Firm, frequented the Howard Street Tavern, Ranch Bowl, and many other Omaha venues of a bygone era. After taking her first journalism class at Duchesne Academy taught by Omaha World Herald entertainment writer Tony Moton, the seed was planted. While studying at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, she decided to pursue writing and eventually found her way to the Omaha City Weekly, where she was an intern. Following stints at The Reader and later, the Santa Fe Reporter, Kyle continued freelancing until she landed a job at Warner Music Group. Six years later, she resigned and accepted a Senior Editor position at HITS Magazine in Los Angeles. She continues to freelance for publications like Rolling Stone, SPIN, XXL, High Times, Village Voice, Thrasher, Omaha Magazine, and many others. She lives in Fort Collins, Colorado with her husband, Paul Lukes, and their two chihuahuas, Petey and Paco one of them will bite your head off. In her spare time, she likes running, hiking, photography, traveling, and staying in plush hotels.

HOLLY MCATEE Contributing Writer

Freelance Writer Holly McAtee is originally from Cincinnati, Ohio. She received her BA in English with a Creative Writing Emphasis and a Theatre Minor from Northern Kentucky University. Holly writes for Omaha Magazine, B2B Magazine, and Onyx Magazine . She loves to hear people’s stories and is honored to be able to write about them. She’s a big believer in serendipity, the power of positivity and manifesting our destinies. Her hobbies include reading, painting, acting, thrifting, exploring the farmer’s market, seeing live theatre and live music, and traveling. She recently acted in The Diary of Anne Frank and Radium Girls at the Lofte Community Theatre in Manley. She’s married to her soulmate Ray. The two of them have had an amazing life together and are proud parents of Roary and Isabella, who both attend UNO. She lives in Springfield and enjoys being part of a small community.

OCTOBER 2024

EDITORIAL

Editor-in-Chief

KIM CARPENTER

Associate Editor & Staff Writer

NATALIE VELOSO

Assignment Editor & Staff Writer

CLAUDIA MOOMEY

Content Creator

BELLA MCATEE

Content Studios Omaha Managing Editor

DASIY HUTZELL-RODMAN

Contributing Writers

TAMSEN BUTLER · GREG ECHLIN· KYLE EUSTICE

BRANDI LONG-FRANK · SARA LOCKE

HOLLY MCATEE · CHRISTOPHER MCLUCAS · KARA SCHWEISS DOUGLAS “OTIS TWELVE” WESSELMANN CREATIVE

BIRDSALL

LUDWICK

ROBINSON

STAY IN THE KNOMAHA!

The metro is jam packed with tons to do—art, concerts, theater, festivals—we’ve got you covered with our comprehensive list and highlighted picks!

COMPILED BY ISABELLA MCATEE

Concert Stage Performance Festival

I’M NOT AFRAID OF MUSIC ANYMORE TOUR

Steelhouse Omaha

October 1, 8 pm 1100 Dodge St. steelhouseomaha.com

The hit pop rock group hailing from Nashville, Tennessee, COIN, is making a comeback with their “I’M NOT AFRAID OF MUSIC ANYMORE” tour. Most known for their hits “Run” and “Talk Too Much,” which hit the mainstream in 2015-2016, their new sound will bring longterm fans together while also getting the attention of a new crowd. The album is produced by Gabe Simon, who has previously produced for names such as Dua Lipa, Noah Kahan, and Lana Del Rey. Th is new evolution of sound was described by the band as “not a new chapter in their existence, but an entire new volume, with more depth than they’ve ever shared before.” Since their 2012 debut, they’ve opened for artists such as 5 Seconds of Summer, toured with The 1975, headlined many of their own tours, and played at Lollapalooza. 402.345.0606

SYMPHONY SPOOKTACULAR

Holland Center of Performing Arts

October 27, 2 pm 1200 Douglas St. ticketomaha.com

Get ready for a spine-tingling adventure with the Omaha Symphony's Symphony Spooktacular! Th is thrilling event invites you to delve into ghostly legends from around the globe, starting with the eerie Legend of the Ghost Light right in their concert hall. Journey through ghost stories and musical traditions from Japan, encounter the haunting La Llorona from Mexico, beware the mischievous fairies of Ireland, and navigate the ominous witches of Germany. Embrace the festive spirit by dressing up in your favorite costume, and arrive early to enjoy engaging lobby activities. All ages are welcome to join Maestro Alejandro and the Omaha Symphony for a night of haunting melodies and international ghostly tales. It’s a spooktacular evening that promises both chills and thrills for the whole family! 402.345.0202

3RD ANNUAL MIDWEST CHINGONA FEST

Falconwood Park

October 12, 12 – 11 pm 905 Allied Rd. laschingonas.net

Inspiring and empowering women will bring the crowds to the third-annual Midwest Chingona Fest in Omaha at an all-new location. Falconwood Park will bring the biggest and best Chingona Fest yet, with a larger food truck lineup, additional vendors, more engaging entertainment, and an improved set up with the same iconic vibes. The name “Chingona” is a Spanish slang word that is used to describe a woman who is independent, successful, and fearless—that’s why Midwest Chingona Fest will uplift the Hispanic women of Omaha during Hispanic Heritage Month! The festival will feature live music, food trucks, mariachi, over 70 vendors, artists, bands, a lowrider show, micheladas, fundraising for local nonprofits, and more. There will be a photo booth and a kids zone to make sure the whole family has a blast. Scholarships are to be given out to young women, as well as the “Chingona Awards,” which will be presented to two women for being excellent role models.

A N R

» EXHIBITIONS «

BECOMING JANE: THE EVOLUTION OF

DR. JANE GOODALL

rough October 13, at e Durham Museum, 801 S 10th St. Renowned English primatologist and anthropologist, Dr. Jane Goodall, has dedicated over six decades to studying the intricate social dynamics of wild chimpanzees, earning her the esteemed title of the world's foremost expert on these creatures. Th is captivating multimedia exhibition pays homage to Dr. Goodall's remarkable life and groundbreaking work. Encountering a life-sized hologram of Dr. Goodall and stepping into a replica of her research tent, visitors will gain a fi rsthand understanding of her tireless dedication to conservation. 402.444.5071 —durhammuseum.org

BENEFIT ART AUCTION EXHIBITION

October 10–October 25, at Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, 724 S 12th St. The Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts brings back its annual Benefit Art Auction Exhibition. See 300 works of art by artists, from local, regional, to national, who are participating in the auction circuit. Up to 50% of the funds go to the artists’ commissions, and the remainder goes straight to Bemis to fund all of their exhibits—which are free to the public—educational programs, performances, and more. 402.341.7130 —bemiscenter.org

EVENTS

RECUERDOS (MEMORIES) - A DAY OF THE DEAD TRIBUTE BY GERARDO “POLLO” DIAZ

October 4 through November 12, at Lauritzen Gardens, 100 Bancroft St. Th is Day of the Dead tribute invites guests to be taken through a visual journey. From the rich stories told and passed down through families, “Recuerdos - A Day of the Dead Tribute” will bring art and the nature of the gardens together. 402.346.4002

—lauritzengardens.org

WICKED PLANTS

October 5 through November 2, at Lauritzen Gardens, 100 Bancroft St. Showcasing the plants that are poisonous, can paralyze, puncture, intoxicate, eat flesh, or off end in other ways, this exhibit is one for the wicked. Some of these plants are grown in gardens or taken in as houseplants—hidden villains wearing heroes’ capes. Learn about all of the villains of the botanical world and how they cause chaos. 402.346.4002

—lauritzengardens.org

IN

THE GALLERY: WICKED PLANTS BY CARMEN MCCULLOUGH

October 4 through November 12, at Lauritzen Gardens, 100 Bancroft St. Inspired by the Wicked Plants exhibit at the gardens, Carmen McCullough uses mixed media to depict a perspective on the collection. The exhibit is told through the lens of a curious botanist who logs in a sketchbook, takes field notes, and includes photos and observations all in their research journal about the wicked. Th is storytelling exhibit works alongside the Wicked Plants exhibit to take you on a journey through the mind of a botanist. 402.346.4002

—lauritzengardens.org

EVA LEWITT

rough January 20, at e Joslyn, 2200 Dodge St. See the whimsy of sculpting come to life through Eva Lewitt’s work. Her goal is to challenge the function of materials and space. The exhibit, which will be within The Joslyn’s Riley Contemporary Artists Project Gallery, will force visitors to question their expectation of the space. Lewitt’s work is rooted in play and brings together the abstract styles of minimalism and conceptualism to capture the attention of Omaha. 402.342.3300

—joslyn.org

ED RUSCHA: PAPER

rough February 23, at e Joslyn, 2200 Dodge St. Familiar objects and locations come to life in Ed Ruscha’s pop art works. Born in Omaha in 1937, he is known for how he combines image and text within his pieces. Ruscha’s work is centered around ordinary objects and places, but the twist is the addition of text—he is fascinated by speech and includes witty word play and puns within his pieces. The exhibition includes drawings, prints, and photographs that bring the ordinary into an extraordinary light. 402.342.3300

—joslyn.org

CLÉMENT COGNITORE: LES INDES GALANTES

rough February 23, at e Joslyn, 2200 Dodge St. Clément Cognitore combines cinema, photography, and installations to comment on all notions of the sacred. Ritual and memory come together through this fi lm, which brings together a moving Baroque soundtrack and dance to tell a moving story. The choreography is K.R.U.M.P., a dance style that was formed in Los Angeles as early as the 1960s. Les Indes Galantes takes its title and music from a 1735 opera-ballet by French composer Jean-Philippe Rameau. 402.342.3300 —joslyn.org

CONCERTS

CELTIC THUNDER

October 3, 7:30 p.m., at Holland Center of Performing Arts, 1200 Douglas St. Renowned Irish vocal group Celtic Thunder brings their Odyssey Tour to Omaha. The group blends the rich traditions of Irish folk music with modern influences, creating a dynamic stage show for audiences of all ages. While rooted in folk, Celtic Thunder also ventures into Broadway, pop, rock, and holiday music, showcasing their versatility beyond the traditional genre. 402.345.0202 —ticketomaha.com

SÄJE

October 4, 7:30 p.m., at Holland Center of Performing Arts, 1200 Douglas St. The vocal supergroup, säje (rhymes with “beige”), is a powerhouse collaboration among Sara Gazarek, Amanda Taylor, Johnaye Kendrick, and Erin Bentlage. Th ese GRAMMY® Award-winning vocalists, each celebrated for their solo careers, come together to create a dynamic group that pushes the boundaries of jazz. Known for original compositions and interpretations of contemporary classics, säje captivates audiences with their artistry and innovation. 402.345.0202

—ticketomaha.com

MOD SUN & LOVELYTHEBAND

October 9, 7 p.m., at Slowdown, 729 N 14th St. Here’s Your Flowers Tour brings together Mod Sun and lovelytheband for a dynamic musical experience. Mod Sun, a prolific singer-songwriter with a career spanning over a decade, has collaborated with top artists like Machine Gun Kelly and Avril Lavigne. Initially a drummer for punk bands Scary Kids Scaring Kids and Four Letter Lie, he’s known for his "movement on dreams, stand under none" philosophy. Joining him is lovelytheband, formed in 2017 by Mitchy Collins, Jordan Greenwald, and Sam Price, who create emotionally resonant indie pop anthems that connect deeply with their audience. 402.345.7569

—theslowdown.com

DREION: MADE FOR THIS TOUR – HOLLAND

MUSIC CLUB

October 11, 7:30 p.m., at Holland Center of Performing Arts, 1200 Douglas St. Hailing from Omaha, Nebraska, DREION is a dynamic singer-songwriter, musician, producer, and performer known for his electrifying stage presence. His music blends gospel, soul, funk, and R&B, creating a sound that’s both soulful and rhythmic. DREION has shared the stage with legendary artists like Earth, Wind & Fire, Musiq Soulchild, Lalah Hathaway, Bootsy Collins, and J. Ivy. Don’t miss his debut performance at the Holland Music Club! 402.345.0202

—ticketomaha.com

MANIA: THE ABBA TRIBUTE

October 13, 7:30 p.m., at Holland Center of Performing Arts, 1200 Douglas St. Featuring a remarkable lineup of musicians and performers, Mania: The ABBA Tribute delivers an authentic and unforgettable homage to the legendary Swedish band that has charmed fans for generations. With dazzling costumes, choreography, and top-notch musicianship, Mania: The ABBA Tribute captures the essence of ABBA’s music in all its splendor. From "Dancing Queen" to "Waterloo," "Mamma Mia" to "Take a Chance on Me," the band passionately performs ABBA's greatest hits, transporting audiences back to the 1970s. 402.345.0202 —ticketomaha.com

THE AWAKENING TOUR

October 17, at Baxter Arena, 2425 S 67th St. The Awakening Tour is set to bring a stellar lineup of contemporary Christian artists to Omaha, featuring performances by Casting Crowns, We The Kingdom, Katy Nichole, David Leonard, Mac Powell, and Terrian. Known for their chart-topping hits, such as Casting Crowns' "Who Am I" and We The Kingdom's "Holy Water," this tour promises to off er a spiritually enriching and uplifting experience for fans of Christian music. 402.554.6200 —baxterarena.com

KORN

October 25, 6:30 p.m., at CHI Health Center, 455 N 10th St. Now celebrating the 30th anniversary of their groundbreaking self-titled debut album, Korn (stylized as KoЯn) is hitting the road in 2024. Join them for an unforgettable tour featuring special guests Gojira and Spiritbox. The influential nu metal band from Bakersfield, California, was founded in 1993 by James "Munky" Shaff er, Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu, and David Silveria, formerly of L.A.P.D. 402.341.1500 —chihealthcenteromaha.com

STAGE PERFORMANCES

SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDERVERSE – LIVE IN CONCERT

October 3, 7 p.m., at Orpheum eater, 409 S 16th St. Join Miles Morales and his crew as their spider-adventure unfolds on a massive HD screen, accompanied by a live performance of the fi lm’s soundtrack! With the Spider Society center stage, you'll be surrounded by the sounds of a full orchestra, a masterful DJ, and an array of percussion and electronic instruments, making you feel like you're right in the heart of the action. 402.661.8501 —ticketomaha.com

ANDREW SANTINO: FREEZE PEACH TOUR

October 4, 7:30 p.m., at Steelhouse Omaha, 1100 Dodge St. Th e Andrew Santino: Freeze Peach Tour features Andrew Santino, an American stand-up comedian, actor, and podcaster. Santino is recognized for his roles in television series and fi lms such as "Sin City Saints", "The Disaster Artist", "Mixology", "I’m Dying Up Here", "Beef", and "Dave". He also gained fame as the star of the YouTube web series Duncan Rocks. 402.345.0606 —steelhouseomaha.com

COLD CASE LIVE

October 4, 8 p.m., at e Astro, 8302 City Centre Dr. Cold Case Live off ers an immersive journey into the realm of unsolved crimes. Th is engaging event delves into America's most infamous cold cases through detailed analyses, fi rsthand insights, and dramatic reenactments. Hosted by Joe Kennedy, known for Starz TV’s "Wrong Man", the show guides attendees through the complexities of solving high-profi le cases such as The Zodiac Killer, The Golden State Killer, and the JonBenét Ramsey case. At the end, participants can step into the role of detective, engaging in reenactments and Q&A sessions, making critical decisions and comparing their choices to those of real-life investigators. 402.345.7569

—theastrotheater.com

ANGELS IN AMERICA, PART ONE: MILLENNIUM APPROACHES

October 4 through November 3 at Omaha Community Playhouse, 6915 Cass St. "Angels in America", winner of a Pulitzer Prize® and Tony Award®, stands as one of the most powerful American plays of the last century. Set during the 1980s AIDS crisis, it follows six interconnected New Yorkers as they confront life, death, love, and the boundaries between heaven and hell. Described as "a gay fantasia on national themes," the play delves into America's identity through lenses of suff ering, sanctity, and queerness. 402.553.0800 —omahaplayhouse.com

THE THORN

October 5–6 at Orpheum eater, 409 S 16th St. The Thorn presents an epic narrative of God’s love and the spiritual struggle for humanity’s soul. Th is visually stunning and emotionally powerful production depicts the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Often likened to "The Passion of Christ", The Thorn is an immersive experience that combines live music, gripping drama, aerial performances, movement arts, contemporary dance, and spectacular visual eff ects. Join over one million fans who have witnessed The Thorn live. 402.661.8501 —ticketomaha.com

THE HUNT FOR SLEEPING

GIANTS – NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

October 6, 2 p.m., at Holland Center of Performing Arts, 1200 Douglas St. Embark on a thrilling adventure with Andrés Ruzo in National Geographic Live’s The Hunt for Sleeping Giants, an exploration of Earth’s most awe-inspiring and unpredictable giants: volcanoes. Travel with a fearless team of volcanologists, geologists, and explorers as they cross continents and oceans in search of these powerful forces. National Geographic Live brings top photographers, fi lmmakers, and adventurers to the stage to share their behind-the-scenes stories. 402.345.0202 —ticketomaha.com

A TASTE OF IRELAND – THE IRISH MUSIC AND DANCE SENSATION

October 12, 7:30 p.m., at Holland Center of Performing Arts, 1200 Douglas St. Fresh from its Off-Broadway debut, A Taste of Ireland –The Irish Music & Dance Sensation is a show that has captivated audiences worldwide. Featuring former World Irish dance champions and dancers from the West End’s Lord of the Dance and Riverdance, A Taste of Ireland takes the audience on a journey through Ireland’s rich and turbulent history, infused with a dash of Irish humor. Experience world-class performers as they deliver folk mash-ups and acapella tap battles. 402.345.0202

—ticketomaha.com

JERSEY BOYS

rough October 13 at Omaha Community Playhouse, 6915 Cass St. Winner of the Tony Award® for Best Musical, "Jersey Boys" is a thrilling experience that takes you behind the curtain of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons. Witness their meteoric rise, the struggles they faced, the confl icts they endured, and the eventual triumph of a group whose music defi ned an era. Featuring chart-topping hits like "Sherry," "Big Girls Don't Cry," "Walk Like a Man," and "Can't Take My Eyes Off You," this is a regional debut you won’t want to miss. 402.553.0800

—omahaplayhouse.com

THE PSYCHEDELIC FURS

October 22, 7 p.m., at e Astro, 8302 City Centre Dr. Th e Psychedelic Furs, emerging from the UK post-punk scene, are celebrated for their blend of rawness and romanticism. Led by Richard Butler and his bassist brother Tim, they scored major hits with "Love My Way," "Pretty In Pink," and others. Their latest album, "Made Of Rain", is their second highest-charting UK album. Renowned for their live performances, they’ve headlined Glastonbury, Radio City Music Hall, and more, continuing to tour globally. 402.345.7569

—theastrotheater.com

ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW

October 23, 8 p.m., at Orpheum eater, 409 S 16th St. Experience "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" like never before at the Orpheum Theater! Join Barry Bostwick, the original "Brad Majors," for a screening of the classic fi lm in its unedited form, accompanied by a live shadow

cast. The evening promises interactive fun with audience participation, a costume contest, and a memorabilia display featuring artifacts and an actual costume from the movie. Don’t miss this immersive and entertaining celebration of a cult classic! 402.661.8501

—ticketomaha.com

WORLD BALLET COMPANY: SWAN LAKE

October 24, 7 p.m., at Orpheum eater, 409 S 16th St. Experience the quintessential ballet with a one-night-only performance by the World Ballet Company. Witness the iconic Dance of the Little Swans, marvel at Odile's 32 fouettés, and be swept away by Tchaikovsky's evocative score. Th e performance showcases the exceptional synchronization of 24 professional ballerinas, creating a breathtaking visual display of this timeless classic. 402.661.8501

—ticketomaha.com

FAMILY, FESTIVALS, & MORE

OMAHA FALL HOME & LIFESTYLE

SHOW

October 4–6, at CHI Health Center, 455 N 10th St. The Omaha Home & Lifestyle Show provides homeowners with a fantastic opportunity to save on their next home improvement project while connecting with local and national vendors. Explore a wide range of ideas and solutions for remodeling your kitchen, upgrading your outdoor space, or refreshing your home. With numerous experts on hand, this event is your one-stop resource for all your renovation needs. Plus, admission is completely free! Don’t miss out on this chance to jumpstart your home projects. 402.341.1500 —chihealthcenteromaha.com

JUNKSTOCK: HARVEST EDITION

October 4–6, at Sycamore Farms, 1150 River Rd Dr. Junkstock: Harvest Edition is back and better than ever! Dive into a world of vintage treasures, unique antiques, and handmade goods. You can browse through an array of artisan creations while savoring delicious bites from food trucks. Enjoy live music and let your kids have a blast in the Kids Village. Th is pet-friendly event offers a pumpkin house, hayrack rides, bonfi res, and plenty of pumpkins. With children 12 and under admitted free, Junkstock: Harvest Edition combines all the best elements of fall into one enchanting experience. 402.765.8651 —junkstock.com

OMAHA NORTH HILLS POTTERY TOUR

October 5–6, at Florence Mill, 9201 N 30th St.

The Omaha North Hills Pottery Tour celebrates its 20th anniversary with an exciting showcase of twenty renowned ceramic artists across four unique stops. Th is annual event, presented by Dennison Pottery, features a diverse array of styles and functional works, including wall art, tableware, and sculpture. Th is free, self-guided tour offers a chance to experience clay art fi rsthand and meet the artists behind the creations. Visitors will have the opportunity to explore working studios and local attractions while enjoying live music, local history, and wine tasting. 402.680.6960 —omahanorthhillspotterytour.com

PORCHFEST OMA – GIFFORD

PARK NEIGHBORHOOD

October 6, at Florence Mill, N 33rd & California St. Now in its eighth year, Porchfest OMA is set to light up Omaha’s Giff ord Park Neighborhood from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The event will feature performances across 12 stages, including the Omaha Mobile Stage at Yates Illuminates, the neighborhood market stage, seven porches, and specialized areas such as a poetry porch, an art porch, and an open mic porch. Over 30 musicians will take the stage, complemented by poetry readings and art displays. Attendees can enjoy local food trucks and neighborhood vendors, with a beer garden at California Bar off ering a view of the market stage. Festival gear and local merchant booths will also be on site.

—porchfestoma.tumblr.com

FARNAM FEST

October 12, 2–11 p.m., at Blackstone District, 3922 Farnam St. Farnam Fest is the Blackstone District’s highly anticipated annual block party. Th is autumn celebration, hosted by 2nd Saturday, features a lively lineup of live music, an array of food trucks, and drinks from an outdoor bar. Th e event promises an exciting day of entertainment and community spirit in one of the district’s largest annual gatherings. Free parking is available in the lot behind Scriptown Brewing, located off Farnam Street between 39th and 40th. 402.505.3247 —blackstonedistrict.com

SPOOKY SKATE

October 18, 6–10 p.m., at Heartland of America Park, 800 Douglas St. Spooky Skate kicks off the Halloween season with a festive party at the Skate Ribbon in Heartland of America Park! Attendees can enjoy a night of frightful fun with games, giveaways, and a costume skate session set to a soundtrack of beloved Halloween songs. Join the family celebration at The RiverFront for a memorable evening of spooky skating! 402.346.8003 —theriverfrontomaha.com

ANIME NEBRASKON 2024

October 18–20 at Mid-America Center, 1 Arena Way. Anime NebrasKon 2024, presented by the Nebraska Japanese Animation Society, is Omaha's premier anime convention. Th is event invites attendees to immerse themselves in the worlds of anime, gaming, comics, and pop culture. Featuring over 100 activities, including an arcade, vendors, Q&A sessions, and more, it stands as the largest and longest-running anime convention in the Omaha/Council Bluff s metro area. With a packed three-day schedule, Anime NebrasKon 2024 off ers a wealth of activities and opportunities to connect with fellow anime enthusiasts. —animenebraskon.com

Long-Lasting Impressions Short Films,

For Justin Wallin, a gift given evolved into a gift discovered.

“When I was 9 or 10, my parents got us a video camera,” he said. “My whole family has always been really into fi lm, and I started writing and fi lming skits with my brothers and our friends right away. A lot of those guys are part of Beaver Lake Productions now.”

In an era when anyone with a cell phone can become a TikTok star, The Beaver Lake boys have taken a slower, steadier approach to their art.

“We were just doing silly, crazy videos that didn’t make sense to anyone but us, but we were putting real effort into them,” he said of the team’s more than 120 YouTube submissions. “There’s an understanding in film that you can shoot good video, but if you have bad audio, it’ll ruin the film. Even with our budget limitations and time constraints, we are putting a lot of work in pre- and post-production to get the sound, the lighting, the effects all dialed in and to make these wort h watching.”

While Beaver Lake Productions puts a great deal of forethought and effort into each of their collaborations, it was a prank they pulled on Wallin’s unsuspecting mother in 2009 that gave them their fi rst brush with viral fame.

“We took 'Toy Story 3,' the part where the toys are all in the incinerator facing their death, and we edited out the rest. We essentially killed the toys,” Wallin recalled. “We imposed really sad music and ran the credits, then shrink wrapped it, and gave it to our mom for Christmas. Then we fi lmed her watching it and posted that, and the next time I signed on it had millions of views.”

While working their regular jobs, the company continued to collaborate on short fi lms and trailers, honing their abilities and building their brand. The Beaver Lake crew consists of a revolving cast of characters from the lives of the four main members: Justin Wallin, Eric Roloff, Nick Rainey, and Ryan Peterson.

"A couple of years ago, we made a goal to release a video every week leading up to Halloween,” said Eric Roloff, a co-creator on the Beaver Lake Productions team. “We managed to make and release five videos that were up to our standard, and we were really proud of them.”

One of these videos garnered a lot of attention for BLP, good and bad.

“The ‘Mister Vala’s’ video was originally going to be tacked onto the back of one of our other videos, ‘Wolf Bite,’” Roloff explained. “But we ultimately put so much effort into both that we felt like they each deserved their own release. I’m so glad we did that, because I think that has helped create a lot more tract ion for us.”

Th e “Mister Vala’s Pumpkin Patch” skit was a cheeky homage to the 400-acre fall attraction, a beloved annual tradition for countles s families.

“There are a lot of jokes and Easter eggs baked into the fi nal product that really underscore the fact that we attend Vala’s every fall,” Wallin said. “We love it there, and it’s such an Omaha tradition. But the response we got from the video showed us that people really got it. Not that anyone was planning to stop attending, but they felt seen and were glad that someone fi nally cal led it out.”

For the uninitiated, the video in question is a three-and-a-half-minute, high-tension parody trailer about the rising cost of the pumpkin patch. The mini-fi lm comes complete with a sinister pumpkin-headed villain who hoards cash and subjects wayward guests to the ultimate consequence.

“We hoped the good-naturedness of it would come through, and Vala’s would laugh along with us. But they didn’t, they blocked us and made a counter video instead.”

While the joke may not have landed with the titular character, the feedback was positive from the rest of the community.

“We got a lot of job offers from that video,” Wallin added. “There were so many businesses who really liked the quality of what we did, and I started doing a lot of videos for local bands.”

Wallin is no stranger to the music scene and is a member of the local band Saltwater Sanctuary. Th is new opportunity brought two of the fi lmmaker’s passions together, and he was soon in high demand.

“One of the main bands we do a lot of work for is called Alyeska,” Wallin said. “We’ve been working with them for a long time, and they just got signed to a major record label, and they’ve got the big budget now. But they still asked for us. Th at was a big moment—being chosen when they could have chosen anyone.”

The team is currently collaborating in anticipation for the fall season, balancing the work that pays with the work that gets them plays.

“We argue and get annoyed with each other sometimes,” Roloff reflected, “but I think that’s just the brotherly nature we’ve built. There’s no confl ict with these guys, just a bunch of creative guys who love what they do and have a great time doing it.”

To learn more and see Beaver Lake Productions’ work, visit beaverlakeproductions.com and YouTube.com/justinwwwalin.

A/C FILM

BY SARA

LOCKE

PHOTOGRAPHY BY BILL SITZMANN

DESIGN BY RENEE LUDWICK

Tim Kasher Dines Out on Music, Writing, and Directing

eruoveD r ofthe Arts”

r ofthe Arts”

A & C MusiC

tTim Kasher has always been a nomad.

It comes from his insatiable appetite for movies, music, literature, or really any art form, which is the reason Kasher calls himself a “devourer of the arts.”

“Voracious is a good term for it,” said the musician, writer, and film director.

Of course, Kasher will always be, upon first reference, frontman to Cursive. Go ahead and Google it. He’s “Cursive’s Tim Kasher” in every taste-making online music outlet, but fronting a beloved indie rock, post-hardcore band and touring the world will do that to you.

While Cursive may be the headliners and his other projects The Good Life and his solo musical work are the undercards on Kasher’s long list of artistic output, there have also been screenplays, novels, and films.

Kasher’s always felt like an actual nomad, too. He’s moved around the country a lot, making his home in Los Angeles (a couple of times), Atlanta, Chicago, and even Whitefish, Montana.

But no matter what he’s got in front of him artistically or personally he always ends up back in Omaha.

He’s lived here. His bands and businesses are here. His friends and family are here. And of course, he’s always here to create.

Why? Because he knows Omaha. He knows how it feels. He knows the layout. He knows its people.

“It’s still where my dreams occur,” Kasher said.

Kasher’s familiarity with Omaha is precisely why he came back to shoot “Who’s Watching,” his latest film.

Kasher’s been writing screenplays for years. His IMDB page lists “additional writing by” on Nik Fackler’s “Lovely, Still,” but he wrote and directed his own feature, 2017’s “No Resolution.”

“Who’s Watching” is a thriller/horror shot almost entirely in Omaha as well as nearby areas such as Fort Calhoun.

It’s quite the Omaha film, not only funded by family and friends from around town, but also incorporating various locales as integral pieces of the movie. One local home used as a shooting location became so important that Kasher calls the house “its own character.”

His deep familiarity with Omaha meant it had to be made here.

“I just know the city so well… I wanted to use that to my advantage,” he said.

Kasher was also drawn back to town to record Cursive’s new album, “Devourer,” at Omaha recording studio ARC with his bandmates.

The album and its title reflect Kasher’s insatiable consumption of art, and it’s also a nod to the twisting path he’s taken through the worlds of music and film.

“Devourer’s” first single, “Up And Away,” has a catchy chorus catchier than you’d expect from an indie rock band who plays things on the harder, dissonant side but despite the Superman’s catchphrase-invoking earworm, it’s not a triumphant song. Its lyrics lament the loss of childhood dreams, culminating in a gut punch of a realization: “Fortunes are finite;” Kasher sings he’s “letting go of the notions I had as a boy.”

Similarly, the music video depicts a man who, no matter how hard he tries, cannot escape his couch, which is literally trying to pull him down. It’s a fairly direct metaphor for depression, but it previews some hope when its last scene depicts the man beginning to claw free.

“Musically, it scratches the itch for me. It dips into discordance and kind of slinks around,” Kasher said. “The chorus of ‘Up And Away,’ I had always thought about changing that because it was triumphant. But I had a moment in the shower one morning where it occurred to me that the other side of ‘Up And Away’ is that there’s this American dream. Every year that passes, you accept that it’s drifting away from you.”

But Kasher isn’t letting anything pass him by. He’s doing as much as he can.

Kasher has a lot going on. Artistically, naturally. But there’s also his involvement in three Omaha businesses; along with his bandmates in Cursive, he’s a co-owner of both O’Leaver’s Pub and Winchester Bar & Grill, as well as 15 Passenger Records, a record label that has released music from Cursive and Kasher, of course, but also local friends Criteria and Dolores Diaz & the Standby Club, as well as Campdogzz, a Chicago indie rock outfit, and Rare Coins, a pairing of David Bazan and Sean Lane.

“I prefer having multiple things going at once. I just am happiest when I’m busy. When everything kind of slows down, you have to confront the greater void of existence,” Kasher said with a laugh. “And I don’t really like staring that in the eye. I love to stay busy.”

Upon reflection, Kasher sees himself being just like his late mother, Linda, who passed away last year. Like her, he’s “constantly going,” and whatever it is he’s doing, he finds himself in the lead spot frontman, bandleader, songwriter, director.

It’s how Kasher knows his art films, music, or anything at all will turn out exactly the way he wants them.

“You’re going to feel best if you do it exactly the way you think it should be done… That’s your voice, and that’s who you are, and it’s much better to express yourself as best as you can.

“Your best stab at authenticity is your own voice. You have to trust your instincts."

To learn more about Kasher and his work, visit timkasher.com.

Strengthening Parent-Child Relationships

One Book at a Time

Literature Profile | Story by Christopher McLucas

Photography by Sarah Lemke | Design by Joey Winton

the background of our phone interview, I heard the usual rumblings of a busy parent. I heard D.M. Whitaker guide her children to their lost items and guide her boys into their daily routine with stern, motherly admonition. The rumblings had been calmed and the silence was my sign to start the interview. My fi rst question to the author: “How can we, as adults, be more childlike?”

“To truly live out our dreams as adults, we need to exercise our imagination,” she answered without hesitation. “We put all these limitations on ourselves. Children have no limitations. As adults, when we have aspirations, we need to do whatever it is we can do to make it happen and don’t limit yourself to barriers you think you have.”

Her book series, “The Grand Adventures of Jade and Grace” and the “Th e Scary Dinosaur and Stinky Skunk,” published by Water Rocks Publishing (owned and operated by Whitaker), focus on social-emotional learning skills. Parents can use these to guide their children into developing a practice in daily life and challenging social settings.

Crystal Swain-Bates, CEO of Goldest Karat Publishing, is Whitaker’s mentor and was more than happy to take time to speak with me while at the 4th Annual Black History Makers event.

“Her background as a social worker and an educator shines through in her writing and execution of her goals,” Swain-Bates said. “Her books are more than just a mother writing parables. Other facets of herself allowed her to know what types of books were missing in the market and what kind of stories would be engaging.”

Whitaker’s many roles should remind us of our strength in this world. We will all be remembered in many ways, not just as a mother, a son, or an occupation. All these roles, lessons, and skills guide us to exactly where we’re supposed to be.

“I’m always challenging myself by asking, ‘what can I apologize for?’ in business and with my children,” Whitaker said. “One of the books in ‘The Scary Dinosaur and Stinky Skunk’ series is about apologizing, which is taking responsibility for your behavior and actions. I wanted to change the narrative of parents never apologizing to their children. My son, Duce, and I wrote the story together, because apologies need to be extended on both sides.”

“Once [Whitaker] learned what I had to teach her, she kept investing in herself. Every new program I off ered, she would take the class and then go do it,” Swain-Bates said. “Even still, my classes start at 8 pm or 10 pm—that’s family time. She sacrifices a little of that time to make sure she is learning so she can continue to grow. Th is isn’t easy for any parent.”

Booking Whitaker for an author visit or a talk, one need not worry about lack of presentation or content. We talked about the purpose and intention of the “Jade and Grace” series.

“The books delve into trauma, insecurities, and bullying from the perspective of the child, which can open up a dialogue,” she explained. “It’s a meaningful experience for parents to open the doors of communication with their children. The ‘Jade and Grace’ series is for adults and children.”

Swain-Bates’ admiration for her studentturned-peer is expressed in her voice. Their shared success is her mission: a world where every author’s voice can be heard, where they can be discovered, where they can succeed. She has worked tirelessly toward that goal, and Whitaker is proof that the dream can become reality.

“What people call excuses are what motivates D.M.,” she said. “She’s defi nitely one of my success stories. I know that she does a lot, which makes me hope that she’s focused on self care. When she comes in town for my two-day in-person events, those could be seen as a little retreat for her, but she was still focusing on her business; she wasn’t up here taking a spa day.”

Coming up on an hour of conversation, I called forth my midwesterner manners and pledged no longer to take up any more of her time. I asked my last question: “What do you want people to know?”

“As a mother, wife, and a friend,” Whitaker said, “I must be able to reach out and accept people where they’re at and to care for them and love them. Th at’s important to me as a Christian and an author.”

To learn more, visit dmwhitaker.com and goldestkarat.com.

Exploring

A&C Art

story by Natalie Veloso // photography by Bill Sitzmann // design by Rachel Birdsall

Exploring the

Susan Knight’s art isn’t just something you look at it’s something you feel.

Her works, whether a swirl of intricately cut paper spirals or an undulating wave of sliced Mylar, capture the fluidity and force of water, transforming any gallery space into a breathing ecosystem. With pieces that encourage viewers to reflect on our collective responsibilities toward water, Knight's fascination runs deeper than mere aesthetics.

“Growing up in Western Michigan, I was always near ponds, lakes, and rivers, but I didn't have a lot of information about the water that surrounded me,” Knight reflected. “As an artist now, I've realized how much I always wanted to know what was going on beneath the surface.”

Knight's career began in advertising and museum work, but it wasn't until she relocated to Houston, Texas, and enrolled at the Glassell School of Art that her true passion unfolded. While creating a memorial piece for a close friend in 2002, Knight

took inspiration from the Elkhorn River, a site of personal significance for her friend. Instead of her usual photographic references, Knight cut a map of the river she grew up on, drawing inspiration from an architectural origami exhibition she had seen in New York.

The experience opened up a new world for Knight, who found herself revisiting stories from her childhood spent near the Great Lakes stories she had never previously explored in her art. "I felt free, so I continued cutting materials,” Knight explained. “There was something about that journey with water that I wanted to keep pursuing."

While Knight’s creative process is rooted in simplicity, it’s incredibly profound in its execution. "I'm as low tech as an artist can get," she smiled. She explores the physics and metaphysics of water through materials like paper, Mylar, and Tyvek. Her primary tool, a humble X-acto knife, cuts intricate patterns until the flowing forms are no longer mere cutouts, but pulse with a life of their own.

“This is my Bible," she said, gesturing toward a well-worn book resting on her studio coffee table “Sensitive Chaos: The Creation of Flowing Forms in Water and Air" by Theodor Schwenk.

“I can be inspired by just a sentence about water,” she explained, holding up a page. “[This book] is what I refer to when I think about physics and metaphysics, and sometimes it just takes a small sketch, like this one on the hydrology of rivers and channels." That singular sketch became the catalyst for three different series.

Knight’s work is intertwined with her fascination for scientific concepts, inherently tied to the Nebraska landscape where she lives and works. Her collaboration with Dr. Nate Eidem from the University of Nebraska Kearney has helped her grasp geographical ideas, while another collaboration with landscape architect Steven Rodie from the University of Nebraska Omaha enhanced her understanding of garden design.

THE WATER-THEMED ART OF SUSAN KNIGHT

“I can be inspired by just a sentence about water.” —Susan Knight

“I have a total respect for scientists and for the scientific process,” she explained, noting how their methods often influence her artistic practice. “Listening to scientists or reading their research can spark something in my mind a phrase or a word might explode in my brain and lead to another series.”

Her work also reflects a strong commitment to environmental advocacy. While viewers don’t tend to seek factual information from Knight’s exhibitions, her pieces invite close engagement with their colors and forms, inevitably sparking conversations about water and its vital role in maintaining a healthy environment.

Building on this engagement, Knight's current exhibition, "Braided Water: Interweaving Roots in Deep Time and Space," is on view at the Stuhr Museum in Grand Island until November 17. This installation explores the geology and history of the Platte River region. Knight integrated data and research on the Platte’s water levels over decades, as well as pioneer and migratory bird routes, abstractly interpreting this geological and environmental data.

Even now, Knight feels there is still much to discover and express through her art, finding endless inspiration in the ever-changing narrative of water.

“All I have to do is wake up and read a headline, and there’s something more for me to consider about water,” she said. “It might be the lead pipes in Flint, Michigan, or it might be what is being revealed by water contracting in the Great Salt Lake. There are so many ways to look at water, to think about it, and to have empathy for it.”

People try to understand her fascination with water by asking if she was a sailor or if she spends a lot of time swimming. She laughs and admits, "I'm not a good sailor at all, and I'm actually a very poor swimmer.”

For Knight, water is far more than what you can do with it. She invites viewers to reflect on water's true essence as a force that shapes our world in ways we are only beginning to comprehend.

“Water sustains and shapes existence it’s both a nurturing presence and a powerful, sometimes destructive force.” In this way, Knight explained, it reflects the full spectrum of the human experience.

“Water is life itself."

For more information, visit susanknightart.com.

MIKE GUILLIATT

Mike Guilliatt, Certified Financial Planner with Guilliatt and Associates, works to guide his clients through life and death. He develops a checklist to cover the whole gamut of their lives. “We talk about goals, and we set up safety nets. We do a lot of legacy planning that includes taxes, income, and protection,” Guilliatt said. “We also talk about health. It’s important to st ay healthy.”

Exercise is an important part of Guilliatt’s life. He makes time to work out every day. He tries to express the importance of health to his clients. Retirement isn’t just about money; it’s about staying healthy in your final years too. Guilliatt is a big fan of “The Blue Zone Book” by Dan Buettner and that lifestyle. He practices a “no-white diet:” no white sugar, no white flour, and no salt. At 80 years old, he doesn’t have plans to retire anytime soon. “I know I’m good at helping people, and I like working so I want to keep working. I tell my clients to keep working too if they enjoy it,” Guil liatt said.”

Before Guilliatt became a Certified Financial Planner, he was a high school teacher in Treynor and Tipton, Iowa. He taught economics, American government, and social psychology, along with coaching basketball, track, cross country, a nd swimming.

He always loved finance and economics, so he decided to leave teaching and become a Certified Financial Planner. He liked the way that he could help a lot of people with their finances and the continuing education in the financial field. “You really affect people’s lives in our occupation. I like listening to them and guiding them towards the life they want,” Gui lliatt said.

The retirement expert is also a history buff who looks to the historical philosophers for advice. “You must be stoic and pragmatic,” Guilliatt advised. “Be practical. Make sma rt choices.”

Staying positive is another bit of advice that Guilliatt tells his clients. “I keep my dad’s purple heart on my desk. It reminds me that it could be worse. I could have people

shooting at me. It reminds me every day to stay positive,” he reflected.

Guilliatt recommends picking a good partner in life. “The pillar behind my operation is my wife, Janice. She was a teacher too, and she helped me study for my finance classes and continuing education. She probably knows the material as well as I do. Women are the glue of society. They are good at stayin g positive.”

Most importantly, Guilliatt advises everyone to visualize the life you want to have. “When I was coaching track, we used to have a string finish line that the kids would run through inside the cafeteria. They could see themselves in the windows crossing the finish line. It was important for them to see themselves winning,” Guilliatt shared. “I also used to tell them when they passed the competition in the race to turn to them and smile as they ran past. Retirement is like that race you must see the fi n ish line.”

To set up a free consultation with Mike Guilliatt at Guilliatt and Associates call 4 02.727.4845

Nebraska’s Composer, Educator, and M usic Pioneer

oward arold anson

orn in 1896 to Swedish immigrant parents in Wahoo, Nebraska, Howard Harold Hanson was destined to be one of the most important composers in the United States. His collection of awards and recognitions is too numerous to list, thus confi rming his position in the music industry and in the hearts of all American classica l musicians.

One such classical musician is Danielle Meier, vice president of artistic administration at the Omaha Symphony. “I am defi nitely a fan,” she said. “He is almost single-handedly responsible for making sure American music after World War I is performed and c elebrated.”

Hanson was indeed an influential figure in the music community, both nationally and internationally. Having earned a diploma from Luther College in Wahoo, he then traveled to New York City to study at the Institute of Musical Art, the forerunner to the famed Juilliard School. The year 1920 saw his fi rst national recognition for The “California Forest Play,” and in 1921, Hanson was the fi rst winner of the Prix de Rome in Music and as such was able to live in Italy for three years.

While abroad, Hanson composed “Quartet in One Movement,” “Lux Aeterna,” “The Lament for Beowulf,” and “Symphony No. 1, Nordic,” further celebrating his Scandinavian heritage after his earlier “Scandinavian Suite.”

In 1924, George Eastman, inventor of the Kodak camera, appointed Hanson to the position of director of the Eastman School of Music after taking notice of his conduction of the New York Symphony Orchestra. Hanson held this position for 40 years, making Eastman School of Music one of the most prestigious in America. The next year, Hanson established the American Composers Orchestral Concerts, followed by annual Festival of American Music in 1931 and “Milestones in the History of Music” in 1938, a weekly radio series, then founded the EastmanRochester Orchestra a year later.

Prestigious awards complemented his conducting and composing career, including the George Foster Peabody Award for Outstanding Entertainment in Music in 1946 and a Pulitzer Prize for his “Symphony No. 4.” Hanson’s best known work, however, is his “Symphony No. 2, the Romantic,” which later gained immense popularity as the end credits of the 1979 Ridley Scott fi lm, “Alien.”

“Everyone loves his ‘Symphony No. 2, the Romantic,’” Meier said. “I just discovered his ‘Chorale and Hallelujah Opus 42,’ and that is unbelievably gorgeous!” Meier’s appreciation for Hanson goes beyond his musical talent, pointing out that he was not only an extremely influential composer, but also a spokesman for the importance of music and music education.

“I’ve lived in Nebraska for about 12 years now,” she said. “As someone who works for an American orchestra, it’s kind of fantastic to know that there was someone who was championing this music and making sure it wasn’t forgotten. It’s nice to know that [Hanson] was fighting the good fight back then, and we haven’t lost more bec ause of him.

“He knew how to write a beautiful piece of music,” Meier continued, “but he also took all of his positions of power and responsibility and used them for good to make sure people knew American composers and American music.”

Hanson’s 1934 work, “Merry Mount,” is considered the fi rst truly American opera—complete with an American composer and American librettist. “Merry Mount” also tells a quintessentially American story. Amidst the ocean of foreign-language operas and foreign composers who were rising in popularity across the world, Hanson lit a fi re under America’s classical music scene that ignited domestic patriotism among musicians. He even coined the term “modal modulation,” with which nearly all musicians are familiar, referring to shifting the modal center in a chord progression.

Hanson’s work was heavily inspired by the poetry of Walt Whitman, most famously noted for his collection entitled, “Leaves of Grass.” Hanson composed “Th ree Songs from Drum Taps” and “Song of Democracy” based on poems by Whitman. Clearly, Whitman’s proclivity for alliteration had rubbed off on Hanson, as he entitled his 1960 book, “Harmonic Materials of Modern Music.”

“Anyone interested in knowing how to utilize the resources they have at hand to do real good should look at Hanson’s time at Eastman,” Meier averred. “He spent 40 years championing education and music; this guy was the epitome of ‘getting it done.’”

For more information about the composer, visit esm.rochester.edu/iam/history.

She ds Light on Oft-Disrega rded History Joe Starita

oe Starita, 75, is an educator on several levels. As a professor in the College of Journalism at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, he has been an educator in the literal, most traditional sense. He also, however, has educated the general public through investigative reporting of current events and publishing books about Native American history, a particular inte rest of his.

“If you grow up in Nebraska, you grow up in a place where there is a large Native American footprint,” said Starita. “You get exposed to Native American things just by virtue of growing up in a state that is named after an Oto word.” In the Oto language, “Nebraska” means “flat water,” named in reference to the Platte River.

Starita’s first exposure to Native American history was learning about Chief Crazy Horse when his family visited Fort Robinson. At age 10, Starita became “a Crazy Horse groupie,” and in the fall of his 6th grade year, Starita’s class was tasked with writing a four-page paper about someone they admired. Starita wrote a 40-page paper about his newfound hero. “It was the lead domino that set off a chain of dominoes that has run through the course of my lif e,” he said.

That course has taken him not only on physical journeys across the world, but educational ones as well.

“I would say there are basically five different chapters in my life,” Starita said. The first was as a young athlete; Starita went to UNL on a baseball scholarship and pitched for two years until he tore his rotator cuff. After that, he played professional basketball in Turkey. When the basketball season ended in Turkey, Starita became a “global roustabout, seeing the world and doing a lot of pretty wild things.” One of these wild things was working on a kibbutz in Israel. “The first night I ate dinner in the communal dining room, I sat next to an elderly Yugoslavian woman who had lost eight members of her family at Auschwitz,” Starita recalled. “She had lost both her mother and father and four brothers and two sisters. She was the only survivor. And that was a whole new world for a 20-year-old from Lincoln, Nebraska, to be sitting next to an elderly Yugoslavian Jew whose family literally went up in smoke in a crematorium in Germany.” Starita spent seven years traveling the world, visiting Ethiopia, Italy, Sri Lanka, Brazil, and every country in Europe.

Chapter three involved Starita’s continuing education. “There were three things I was interested in in life: I loved travel, I loved talking to people, and I loved writing,” he said. The combination of those interests naturally turned him to the field of journalism. After graduating with a master’s in journalism from UNL, Starita got a job at the Miami Herald in Florida as a journalist and investigati ve reporter.

Fate took an interest in Starita and his journalistic ability while in Florida, as he heard of a local scandal by happenstance and wrote a story that eventually became a Pulitzer Prize finalist in the category of Investigative Reporting. A lawyer had learned of his company’s malfeasance, and, obeying his conscience, attempted to do something about it. “[He] went to the American Bar Association and told them this story, and they didn’t do anything, so he got frustrated and went to the local chapter of the American Medical Association,” Starita explained. “They also turned a deaf ear on him, and so out of frustration, he called the city desk of the Miami Herald and I just happened to answer the phone.” Starita met with the lawyer that night and spent the next five months investigating, writing, and exposin g the story.

The scandal in question was one of medical malpractice in 1990-1991; certain doctors and lawyers were colluding to physically damage patients, then use MRI scans to extort money from insuranc e companies.

“I proved that they made millions of dollars over the course of a number of years surgically removing perfectly healthy discs from illiterate, poor Haitians in south Florida and then using the MRI scans to show insurance companies how badly their clients were damaged,” Starita explained. “They would warn [the insurance companies] that south Florida juries were notoriously liberal, and they could stand to lose an awful lot of money if they brought a poor Haitian mother on the stand and explained to the jury that this mother of five children who is impoverished, now is also physically impaired for life because of the damage that she suffered in this alleged auto accident. And time after time, the insurance companies would settle out of court rather than risk a major damage award in a liberal south Florida court.” Starita has a photo of the doctors involved being handcuffed and led out by police officers; a talisman of immorality coming to justice, hanging on a wall in his Lincoln home. “So in the end, it was the local newspaper who provided the story that ended this horrifically corrupt and heinous operation between this law firm and this medical practice that was grossly abusing innocent human beings,” Starita said proudly. “And that’s what good journalism is supp osed to do.”

After his stint in Florida, Starita returned to Lincoln and began writing his first book, “The Dull Knifes of Pine Ridge.” This began the writing chapter of his life. “Dull Knifes” was also nominated for a Pulitzer Prize

in History. This book put five generations of a single Lakota family under a microscope and looked at the narrative arc of what each of those generations had to do to survive. “You can’t make this stuff up,” Starita said. “The stories are unbelievable.” Kieth Dull Knife walked from Oklahoma back to Montana. His son, George Dull Knife, was a member of Buffalo Bill Cote’s wild west show who went to England to perform.

George’s son, Guy Dull Knife Sr., joined the United States Army during WWI, narrowly avoiding death by mustard gas. “This was seven years before Native Americans were considered worthy enough to be citizens in their own country, in lands they had lived upon for 10,000 years,” Starita said. “And here’s Guy Dull Knife Sr. fighting trench warfare in France against the Germans, almost dying for a country that didn’t consider him worthy of being a citizen.”

Guy’s son fought in the Vietnam War. He was the point man in his army unit in the summer of 1968. “Walking point was probably the most dangerous job in the world,” Starita explained. “You had to walk 50-100 feet ahead of the main unit to make sure there were no mines, to make sure there were no Viet Cong ambushes, and he was the only Native in his unit. The C.O. of the unit selected him as ‘point man’ because he thought as an Indian, he could hear branches crackling or people talking better than a white man.” His son fought in the Gulf War against Sa dam Hussein.

Andrew Troy, a Los Angeles-based screenwriter, director, and producer. Sheridan’s movies have generated 16 Academy Award nominations for films like “My Left Foot,” for which actor Daniel Day Lewis won the Best Actor award. Troy, another veteran in the filmmaking industry, is passionate about the project, as he is of Apac he descent.

“I think when you put together an Irishman and an Apache working on a project, good things are going to happen,” said Starita. Currently, the filmmakers are finalizing the script, interviewing A-list actors for the roles, “some of the biggest names in Hollywood,” according to Starita, and researching locations for filming. They plan to shoot at least partially along the Niobrara River in Northeast Nebraska, which is the homeland of Standing Bear and the Ponca Tribe. Starita is fed up with

“They’re really important stories, for all kinds of reasons. Stories for not only Nebraskans to know, but for all people to know, because they represent the best o f humanity.”

— Joe Starita

“The Dull Knifes of Pine Ridge” was a big success so much so that it was not only nominated for a Pulitzer, but was considered as the basis for a potential television series by Steve n Spielberg.

Though the visual media adaptation of “Dull Knifes” did not work out, it did for Starita’s second book, “I Am a Man: Chief Standing Bear’s Journey for Justice.” This book will get a movie adaptation in the near future, beginning product ion in 2025.

“I am so honored and very thrilled that this is now going to go from something you hold in your hands and read to something you sit in a theater and watch,” Starita beamed. “It’s going from page to screen. And it’s very exciting to think about the people who ar e involved.”

The people involved include Jim Sheridan, a filmmaker from Dublin, Ireland, and

the “cliches and Djangoistic gibberish” that usually define movies about Native Americans. “That’s going to end with this movie,” Starita averred. “It’s not going to be some cliche of the Lone Ranger and Tonto. It’s the real deal.”

Starita hopes the film will inspire young Native children. “The thought of a 14-year-old boy or 14-year old-girl being able to sit and watch the true story of a true hero who looks like them is what is really exciting about this project,” he said. “It’s going to make these Native children all over the country feel very good about themselves and very proud of their history and their people, and they have not had enou gh of that.”

Starita’s third book, “A Warrior of the People: How Susan La Flesche Overcame Racial and Gender Inequality to Become America’s First Indian Doctor,” is a deep dive into exactly what the subtitle suggests. This remarkable story is another in Native history of incredible courage and determination. As both a Native American and a woman living in the

1880s, La Flesche had two major strikes against her in her pursuit of a medical degree. At the time, it was a ludicrous aspiration to add some perspective to the timeline, women in the United States were not given the right to vote until 1920, and Native American women were not allowed the right until 1924, nearly 150 years after the founding of the country in 1776. Still, La Flesche persisted until she overcame these barriers. With an official degree in hand, she ignored her colleagues’ pleas for her to stay and build a wealthy, comfortable life to return to her home on the Omaha reservation, a community neglected by white doctors. “Again, a powerful, spiritually enriching story that seems almost too good to be true,” sa id Starita.

All of Starita’s books highlight that common thread that runs in most Native American stories: the combination of selflessness, determination, and family. “They’re really important stories, for all kinds of reasons,” Starita said. “Stories for not only Nebraskans to know, but for all people to know, because they represent the best of humanity.” That selfless mindset is more than apparent in the culture and lore of Native American tribes. “They are a ‘we’based culture,” Starita explained. “Crazy Horse was revered for going out on hunts and coming back with a couple of deer and giving them to the elders of the tribe who had no sons or any means of getting their own meat. He would give everything away. That was one of their values: the more you gave away, the richer you became in the ir culture.”

The most recent chapter of Starita’s life has come to reflect those values of Native culture. While teaching at the College of Journalism at UNL, Starita started a scholarship fund called the Chief Standing Bear Journey for Justice Scholarship Fund. “I kind of have a hyper-aggressive, hyper-competitive personality from playing baseball,” he said. “Now, as I am getting a little mellower, I am just wanting to do really good things. I want to give back now, and I’m in a position to be able to do that.” For the last 10 years, the scholarship has awarded between $1,500 and $2,000 a year to Nebraska Native American high school graduates. In 2024, Starita and his scholarship committee (four of the five of whom are Native American women) awarded 22 scholarships totaling $40,000 to Native Nebraska students.

“There’s not much that makes you feel any better than being able to help somebody to achieve their goal, who does not have the financial means to achieve their dream,” Starita said. “And that’s exactly what has happened with dozens and dozens of Native students through this scholarship that hundreds of people have donated to.”

In his 21 years of teaching, Starita developed close relationships with his students, leading them to success and taking them on field trips to places like Sri Lanka. “The high point of those 21 years was a yearlong project that a magnificent group of 12 students did,” he reminisced. “They spent an entire year working on a project that we called ‘The Wounds of White Clay.’” White Clay is a town on the border of South Dakota near the Pine Ridge reservation, a dry reservation whose community, the Ogallala Lakota, was being damaged by the liquor stores in White Clay. The project was entered in the College category of the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism and Books Award in 2017, and won not only in the College category, but won the grand prize meaning it beat out all the entries in the Professional category as well. “This college entry by 12 snot-nosed college kids beat out the New York Times, the Washington Post, HBO, The Guardian it beat out all the professional entries,” Starita said with pride. “This was the only time that has ever happened in the 57-year history of the award.”

Starita’s pride in his students never wavered and kept him returning to the classroom year after year. “I always tried to make my students feel like they were very important, and that they were doing not only good work, but important work,” he explained. “I was very pleased and proud of all the things we were able to accomplish during those 21 years. It was a real honor to work with these young students who are now out in the real world doing wonderful things…I always felt like a pr oud father.”

After retiring three years ago, Starita now focuses on writing. He is currently working on an investigative story for the Flatwater Free Press. “[It’s] a very in-depth look at the deleterious health damage that the North Omaha coal fire power plant is causing,”

he shared. “That plant has been burning coal for 70 years and has been releasing all this toxic poison into the air that blows over North Omaha, helping to create the lowest life expectancy rate in Omaha at just over 70 years. It’s helping to create a situation where the asthma rate in North Omaha is 48% higher than anywhere else in Dou glas County.

“In the background, there is another book that I’ve started research on,” he said. “The working title is ‘Mr. Lincoln’s Prisoners.’ It is a harrowing account of the largest mass execution in the history of the United States…where 38 Santee Sioux warriors were hanged in front of a cheering crowd of 5,000 Minnesotans.” In the fall of 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed off on these executions, which, Starita said, “may give you a false suggestion that Abraham Lincoln was perhaps a villain, but in fact that’s what makes his story, in one way, so powerful; I believe he is the only president in the history of this country, given what he was facing, given his mental state, given the state of the country, who would have taken the time to read through more than 300 death sentences…if they had their way, there would have been more than 300 Santee Sioux men hanged ins tead of 38.”

On May 12 of 2023, Starita was pleased to see the reveal of a new stamp depicting Chief Standing Bear at the Centennial Mall, across from the College of Journalism at UNL. This location was an apt choice, given the home of a statue of Chief Standing Bear, an exact replica of the one in Statuary Hall in the United States Congress statistically the most popular statue of the collection of 100 (each state has two). “The artist did a fantastic job, he captured Standing Bear really well,” Starita marveled.

Starita continues to write and report, no doubt inspired by the myriad of artwork, photographs, and books lining the walls of his cozy Lincoln home. Though he has accomplished much throughout his life, he still has much to give to Nebraskans, and to America. “There are so many things that we as Americans, we as a country, could have learned from Native Americans if we were only listening, if we were only a little bit smarter,” he opined.

Harley Happiness Jordan Pirtle’s

"Clarinda, Iowa, is a pretty small town, with a population of about 5,500. I lived there until I was 25, then I decided to spread my wings and see what the city had to offer.”

Jordan Pirtle has a knack for seeming to fit in exactly where she is, regardless of the environment. From performing with the Omaha Wind Symphony in formal wear to sawdust-covered denim working in her makeshift woodworking studio, Pirtle is always in her element.

“As long as I have a community that shares in what I’m passionate about, I’m going to fully enjoy my life every day,” she said.

As a post-secondary education professional, Pirtle cuts a serious figure. A consummate professional and vigilant advocate with a passion for making a difference for each student, her down time is sacred and she spe nds it well.

“My dad rode motorcycles when I was growing up, so I was around them a lot,” she explained. “I decided that as a gift to myself for getting my graduate degree and my first teaching job, I’d buy myself a bike. It was the first that was mine, but I’ve always had a fascination for them. People who only know me professionally are always so surprised to find I ride a Harley. I think everyone has their own preconceived notion of what a motorcyclist looks like.

“When I first started riding, I didn’t have much of a community to ride with,” she added. “Nobody I was friends with had any interest, so I decided I would just put myself out there. You meet the coolest people on a motorcycle, and it wasn’t long before everything kind of snowballed. These people became my closest friends and are the first to offer help to each other when any kind of need arises. I guess there’s just a shared spirit there when you find your people. For us, we have this common thread of danger, excitement, and a kind of therapy when you’re on a motorcycle. The noise, the focus it’s really meditative.”

The first member Pirtle added to her new chosen family was a chance encounter in 2005 with a girl on the back of a bike. “There wasn’t really social media back then or any really easy way of connecting with a person from a different town you’ve only shared a few sentences with, but I knew she was someone I wanted in my life, so I got a little creative about how to re-approach her,” Pirtle recalled.

“I got a knock on my door and there Jordan was in full formal wear,” Sara Skidmore Smith recalled of reconnecting with the woman who eventually became her best friend. “She was performing with the Omaha Wind Symphony and looked

absolutely beautiful, but not like someone you expect to say ‘Hey, wanna go for a Ha rley ride?’

“At the time, I was only riding on the back of my then-husband’s bike,” Smith said. “Jordan really encouraged me to start taking some adventures of my own and would invite me out to ride after work every week. We live really far apart, but she prioritized our time and taught me to prioritize myself and the people who make me a better person. You’re only as good as the people you surround yourself with, and Jordan is really the most thoughtful, well-rounded person I’ve ever met.

“Until Jordan, I didn’t have girlfriends. But she’s a natural networker, and everyone she’s brought into my life has been just as powerful and positive as she is. She doesn’t tolerate drama, and has built the most incredible network of amazing women,” Smith beamed.

That network grew into 15 years of adventures together, from short, local rides to long, cross-country expeditions. Pirtle constantly grows and empowers her community, whether she’s passing through a town on her bike or leading a group fitness class. No matter where she is or what she’s doing, Pirtle finds her people, her peace, and pure joy.

To learn more about Jordan’s j oyful life, visit her website at Harleysa ndHeels.com.

Elevating

HowtheUniversityofNebraskaOmaha isRisingtoWorld-ClassStatus

FEATURE//StoryNatalieVeloso//PhotographyBillSitzmann//DesignJoeyWinton Excellence:

The College of Business Administration has played a pivotal role, particularly through its association with the National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology, and Education (NCITE) Center. The Department of Biomechanics alone fi led more than 50 inventions in just the last five years, providing a nearly $30 million economic boost to the Omaha community.

“Reputation in academics is fascinating— once you start building strategic strengths, they create a ripple effect,” Chancellor Li explained. “World-class faculty attract more top-tier talent who see the potential in being associated with a university known for excellence in areas like cybersecurity, biomechanics, aviation, and criminology.”

In a remarkable display of academic prowess, the University of Nebraska Omaha (UNO) shattered its own records with a groundbreaking $42 million in research funding for the 2023 fi scal year. Marking the third time in four years that UNO set a new funding milestone, this achievement underscored a transformative era for the university that has carried into 2024.

From cutting-edge research to global partnerships, UNO is rapidly emerging as a worldclass leader in higher education.

“UNO is on a journey to redefi ne excellence in higher education—our mission is to lead in research and education on a global scale,” Dr. Joanne Li, Chancellor of the University of Nebraska Omaha since 2021, said. The university’s ascent, she added, is driven by a collective dedication to providing students with unparalleled educational opportunities while addressing global challenges.

From its groundbreaking research and facilities to significant strides across academic fields, UNO’s journey to becoming a worldclass institution involves strategic advancements and a holistic approach to education.

Academics Excellence and Research: A Hub for Innovation

The university’s research efforts, from cybersecurity to enhancing mobility for stroke patients, involve both undergraduate and graduate students collaborating with faculty to develop innovative solutions to the most pressing challenges.

Dr. Li also highlights the university’s dedication to incorporating advanced technologies into its curriculum. “As a trustee of the Higher Learning Commission, I see how technology is reshaping education,” she said. “These days, we’re incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) into our teaching to prepare students for a future where technology and AI play a critical role. We’ve launched an AI Lab to train faculty and staff, ensuring we stay ahead in our curriculum.” UNO has also been a pioneer in online and hybrid course delivery, she added, acting as a leader in modern teach ing methods.

The university’s transdisciplinary approach, which integrates resources across its six colleges and into the community, fosters collaboration. “For a metropolitan university like UNO, we’re not receiving proportional state support, which is a common challenge for urban universities,” Chancellor Li noted. “However, every challenge presents an opportunity.”

Adrian Dowell, who has served as UNO’s Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics since 2021, was drawn to the university by its growth potential under Chancellor Li’s leadership. UNO’s student-athletes are successfully competing at the highest level in collegiate sports in Division I athletics—a commitment to excellence that resonated with Dowell from the start.

“Our hockey and softball programs fi nished last year in the national top 20,” Dowell noted. “We’ve also won numerous championships and enjoyed record-breaking fan support.” Maverick Athletics and Baxter Arena not only enhance the visibility of the UNO campus, but they also provide substantial economic and social benefits to the Omaha metropolitan are a, he added.

community. In the past year alone, over 650,000 unique visitors have come to campus, drawn not only by sports, but community graduations, concerts, and corporate events.

“We’re fortunate to have facilities like Baxter Arena for hockey, basketball, and volleyball; Maverick Park, one of the best ballparks for baseball and softball; and Caniglia Field, which recently hosted a major league soccer game,” he said. “These facilities are a point of pride for our campus community.”

UNO’s investment in modern residence halls and other key infrastructure further enhances the student experience, creating an environment that supports both academic and extracurricular excellence. Th is approach to campus development is exemplified by

center, led by Dr. Alexey Kamenskiy, aims to revolutionize the treatment of vascular diseases—a leading cause of death and disabilit y worldwide.

Dr. Nick Stergiou, the founding Chair of the Department of Biomechanics and Director of the Biomechanics Research Building, said this new center represents a continuation of the department’s trajectory, which has seen tremendous growth since the launch of the Biomechanics Research Center in 2014. “UNO is at the forefront of this discipline, having established the fi rst academic department in biomechanics. We offer bachelor’s, master’s, and PhD degrees in the field— we’re the pioneers in biomechanics education,” he said.

Our goal is for people to recognize our impact on the world, and to proudly say they graduated from the University of Nebraska in Omaha.

Dr. Joanne Li

“Despite the challenges in intercollegiate athletics, we stay focused on ensuring student athletes excel academically and are prepared for the workforce,” Dowell said. UNO’s commitment to academic excellence, he explained, coupled with its strategic advancements in research and technology, is supported by investments in campu s amenities.

Cutting-Edge Facilities: Investment in In frastructure

Over the past decade, UNO has strategically allocated more than $470 million to develop and upgrade its facilities. “Infrastructure expansion is crucial to accommodate our growth,” Chancellor Li noted. “Without it, we can’t support faculty, staff, visitors, partnerships, or students.”

UNO’s commitment to providing top-tier facilities extends beyond academic buildings, Dowell said, encompassing state-of-the-art sports venues and community spaces that enhance engagement with the Omaha

the Biomechanics Research Building, a cutting-edge facility that underscores the university’s dedication to cutting-ed ge research.

Biomechanics: Pioneering Research in Movement and Cardiovascular Health

With the Biomechanics Research Building at its core, the Department of Biomechanics is a leader in innovative research on human movement and cardiovascular health. Th is state-of-the-art facility and the department’s focus on clinical biomechanics has led to significant advancements, particularly in supporting populations such as the elderly and children with cerebral palsy.

A major milestone for the department came in February 2024 when UNO received an $11 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH)—their second NIH grant— to establish the Center for Cardiovascular Research in Biomechanics (CRiB). Th is new

“I remember visiting the labs in the early days and holding what looked like snakeskin in my hand,” Chancellor Li recalled. “I was told, ‘Chancellor, in your hand is the future of stents.’ There are major advances in both biomechanics and medical research happening right here on UNO’s campus.”

From developing new materials for cardiovascular diseases to exploring the use of exoskeletons and AI in medical research, this focus on impactful research has helped UNO build a strong global reputation in biomechanics. The department collaborates with prestigious institutions across the nation, including UC Berkeley and Harvard University, as well as institutions in Italy, Portugal, England, France, Germany, Denmark, and Sweden. UNO’s department also houses students and faculty from nearly 30 countries.

Dr. Stergiou’s vision is clear: “My personal goal is to ensure that by the time I retire, if a student anywhere on the planet receives two envelopes—one from UNO Biomechanics and another from any other recognizable university—they’ll open UNO’s fi rst. We’re mighty close to this.”

UNO’s biomechanics research not only contributes to the university’s academic excellence, but also plays a crucial role in its mission to improve the lives of people around the world.

“Biomechanics is the discipline of the 21st century, dealing with prosthetics, robotics, exoskeletons, and more,” Dr. Stergiou explained. “We’ve always asked how we can assist with different movement disorders—now, we have the technology to answer that question, with high-speed cameras that capture thousands of pictures per second and advanced computer systems to help us understand them.

“The things we’re doing today are things people dreamed of doing 10 years ago—imagine what we can do in another 10 years.”

Aviation Institute: A Leader in Aviation Education

UNO’s commitment to advancing technology is also evident in the remarkable growth of the Aviation institute, solidifying its reputation as a national player in the field. A cornerstone of the institute’s technological advancements is the state-of-the-art Boeing 737 fl ight simulator, an advanced training device.

“The Boeing 737 device is tremendous for our students, offering the most accurate practice with the aircraft they’ll be flying once they graduate,” Scott Vlasek, Director of the Aviation Institute, explained. The simulator allows students to familiarize themselves with the autopilot and fl ight management systems, crucial for modern aviation careers.

Partnerships with major airlines provide students with direct pathways into the industry, Vlasek added. Th rough collaborations with companies like Jet Linx Aviation, Southwest Airlines, and United Airlines, students gain access to conditional job offers, mentorship programs, and invaluable industry connections.

“Today, UNO has pathway programs for students that didn’t exist when I was a student,” Vlasek noted. “We’re a big regional player, and we’re becoming even more of a national player, attracting students nationwide with our technology and partnerships.” The institute’s affordable fl ight training costs compared to other state institutions make it an even more attractive option for students.

“Our faculty are researching future technologies that will impact the field, and we’re focused on integrating these advancements into our curriculum to make sure our students are prepared for tomorrow’s aviation industry,” V lasek said.

NCITE: Lead ing the Way in National Security

Further technological advancements extend into critical areas such as national security research. The NCITE Center of Excellence exemplifies this commitment as the Department of Homeland Security’s premier academic center for terrorism prevention and counterterrorism research.

“NCITE was established around 2020, and their focus on security research is crucial for keeping our nation and world safe,” Chancellor Li said. “Students from diverse fi elds—linguistics, English, psychology, business—all work together on real-world projects. With STRATCOM just 15 minutes away, NCITE is positioned to build on that strategic excellence for the state of Nebraska.”

NCITE’s mission is clear: to produce actionable research that integrates social science, business, and technology to enhance homeland security. With a consortium of over 50 expert researchers from institutions across the U.S. and Europe, NCITE’s work reinforces the university’s role as a thought leader in national security and further elevates its reputation on the internat ional stage.

Student-Centered Approach

UNO’s commitment to students is evident across its other diverse academic areas, including education, communication, and fi ne arts. The arts saw a significant boost with the $1 million pledge from Dr. Michael B. Jones in July 2024 to create the Michael Bruce Jones, M.D. Chair in the School of the Arts.

“I’m very privileged to be able to make a donation, and I hope that other like-minded people come together to strengthen the humanities at UNO since this is our city’s university,” said Dr. Jones.

“The generosity of Dr. Jones’ gift cannot and should not be understated,” said Michael L. Hilt, dean of the College of Communication, Fine Arts, and Media. Th is endowed chair is set to elevate the arts at UNO, he added, attracting top faculty and offering innovative opportunities for students. Th is commitment to enhancing the university’s academic environment parallels Chancellor Li’s vision for broadening UNO’s global reach.

“Higher education cannot be defi ned by boundaries,” she said. “I always say, ‘let’s bring Omaha to the world and bring the world to Omaha.’ We need more international students to enrich our student body and help solve workforce demands.”

With a focus on countries like Vietnam and Japan, where there’s a high demand for higher education, UNO aims to expand international collaboration through research and curriculum development. Chancellor Li’s ambitious goal is for international students to comprise 10% of the student body, which she believes will enhance campus diversity while meeting local work force needs.

As UNO looks to the future, the focus remains on preparing students for success. “Data shows that over 65% of our graduates stay in Nebraska, which reflects the impact of public education on local economic development,” noted Chancellor Li. The strong impact of alumni underscores the lasting influence of a UNO education, Dowell added.

Thethings we’re doing todayare things people dreamedof doing10yeas ago–imaginewhat wecandoin another10 years. –Dr.Nick Stergiou

“One of the biggest opportunities for growth for the institution, our athletics program included, is alumni engagement,” he said. “Most people don’t realize this, but UNO has more alumni living and working in the Metro area than Creighton and UNL (University of Nebraska–Lincoln) combined—the number is close to 70,000.”

Alum ni Success: A Testament to UNO’s Impact

UNO’s alumni network reflects the university’s success, with successful graduates like Ryan Curtis, a 2005 Engineering alum now a Senior Associate at LEO A DALY. Curtis credits UNO for its robust engineering and architectural programs, which, combined with practical experiences and industry involvement, set him up for a successful career.

“I chose UNO for its strong engineering programs, as well as the opportunity to play basketball, which turned out to be a fantastic decision for my education and growth,” Curtis said. “I knew there were AEC (architecture, engineering, and construction) industry leaders in Omaha. There’s Kiewit, and then there’s LEO A DALY, HDR, and DLR Group. My decision to go to UNO was not only to get a good education, but also to get good job placement after I was done w ith school.”

Curtis remains actively involved with the university, mentoring students and supporting

career development programs through the Alumni Association. “I give back because I believe in supporting the institution that played a crucial role in my personal and professional development,” he said. “Th rough the College of Engineering, I have a chance to meet with students one-on-one and give t hem advice.”

“A successful alumni network is crucial for our university,” Chancellor Li added. “Our Alumni Association has strengthened connections through programs like “Mavs on the Move” and “Wear Black, Give Back,” which encourages small donations that make a big difference. Every year, we award the Alumni Achievement Awards, and these individuals are doing incredible things in technology and other fields across the world.”

The Alumni Association also helps students navigate early career placement and prepare for interviews, including providing professional attire, Cu rtis added.

Curtis has one main piece of advice for current students: “Seek mentorship and, eventually, become that mentor and give back. Th at’s where you really benefit from the cycle continuing on: you can help others grow. It’s an exciting time to be a Maverick and to be alumni—but the best years are ahead.”

e Fut

ure of UNO: Continuing the Momentum

As UNO continues its upward trajectory, the need for sustained philanthropic and community support becomes even more critical. Over the years, generous contributions have been instrumental in driving advancements in biomechanics, aviation, and beyond. Omaha’s philanthropy has been a lifeline for biomechanics, Dr. Stergiou noted, enabling their groundbreaking research and facilities.

“We are a sure bet—we have a young, hungry team that’s going to build and do so much more,” Dr. Stergiou said. “Omaha has been extremely generous with biomechanics, with supporters like Bill and Ruth Scott and their family. We’re still growing rapidly—I’m asking the people of Omaha to keep stepping up to the plate and help us maintain this momentum. The university is very supportive, but we truly need the help of the community.”

Similarly, the aviation program has thrived thanks to gifts like the 737-simulator made possible by the Ethel S. Abbott Foundation, but as the program expands, continued backing is essential to keep pace with industry demands, Vlasek said.

Chancellor Li makes her vision for UNO’s future clear: continued growth in academic excellence, global collaborations, and research innovation. Yet she acknowledges the challenges ahead. “We do have resource constraints, but the community’s support is vital,” she said. “We must advocate for a more equitable budget to support the university. Th at responsibility falls on a chancellor’s shoulders, and I take it very seriously.”

UNO aims to not only maintain this momentum, but accelerate it, with a focus on expanding its international reach to strengthen its reputation as a world-class institution. Chancellor Li’s rallying cry—“let’s bring Omaha to the world and bring the world to Omaha”—embodies the university’s mission ahead. “Continuing our growth will require generous philanthropic support, understanding from the legislature, and successful alumni,” Chancel lor Li said.

“Our goal is for people to recognize our impact on the world, and to proudly say they graduated from the University of Nebraska in Omaha.”

For more information, visit unomaha.edu.

A Safe Place for Thriving Imaginations and Boundless Curiosity

arly learning happens everywhere, every day – and parents are a child’s first and most importa nt teachers.

Nebraska Public Media nurtures meaningful partnerships with parents, educators and caregivers to prepare all Nebraska’s children for success in school and bright futures. Our focus on early learning creates possibilities for every young Nebraskan with improved education, workforce and li fe outcomes.

Research confirms our award-winning PBS KIDS television programs, digital experiences and trusted mobile apps are leading educational resources that promote early learning and school readiness, especially for low-income children and families in underserved communities.

In 2023, Nebraska Public Media was awarded a grant as part of a Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB)-PBS Ready To Learn initiative, funded by the U.S. Department of Education. The grant award established an opportunity for the network to develop new, long-term partnerships that expand learning from school to home to community in meaningful ways, and to support Spanish-speaking educators and caregivers in communities acro ss Nebraska.

In Fremont, educational access can be limited for multilingual children and families whose first language is Spanish or K’iche’, which is spoken by Guatemalan refugees. Nebraska Public Media partnered with local organizations to create connections, build on the community’s strengths and support access to literacy acros s languages.

Now, a ‘learning neighborhood’ in Fremont supports families with children who do not speak English as their first language, and the early childhood educators who teach them. It’s an idea that we are using as an example for other areas.

“There is incredible work being done to support multilingual education in Fremont. Our ‘learning neighborhood’ is a community approach that will build on existing efforts,” explained Jessica MitchellMcCollough, Nebraska Public Media’s director of education.

We created multilingual, family-friendly education events and take-away materials that encourage more learning at home. In Fremont, the Washington Elementary Dual Language Program and Keene Memorial

Library embraced new hands-on learning resources, and together, we are guiding young families as they explore new lang uage skills.

The family events drew more than 200 participants and Keene Memorial Library experienced significant growth in families signing up for library cards and checking out Spanish-language books, according to Mitchell-McCollough.

Based on our work in Fremont, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and PBS awarded a statewide Ready To Learn grant to our network. New Ready To Learn resources support our collaboration with local community partners to expand educator, parent and caregiver trainings across Nebraska, as well as the use of digital media resources and hands-on learning activities from PBS KIDS, especially in unders erved areas.

One goal is to support young children as they develop key skills identified by the U.S. Department of Education, including functional everyday literacy, critical thinking, collaboration, world of work and intergenerational learning. Another goal is to engage parents, caregivers, families and community members in intergenerational hands-on playful learning that support those same key skills.

The Ready To Learn grants support our state’s youngest learners, building a bridge for learning from school to home to community in meaningful and approa chable ways.

NebraskaPublicMedia.o rg/education

Meteorologist Michaela Wood

t’s always been Michaela Wood’s plan to be a meteorologist. She started by watching YouTube videos when she wanted to understand the weather. She went to college and was a student researcher at The TORUS project (Targeted Observation by Radars and UAS of Supercells), which involved more than 50 scientists and students deploying a broad suite of cutting-edge instrumentation into the Great Plains. She is now a meteorologist at the National Weat her Service.

“There were a couple options when I started college on what exactly I wanted to do,” said Wood. “I knew I didn't want to be in broadcast meteorology. I wasn’t big on cameras; I wanted to work for the public and d o research.”

The mission at the National Weather Service is protection of life and property. They do not consider themselves First Responders, yet they maintain a goal of keeping people safe. The Science and Operations Officer at the National Weather Service, Brian Barjenbruch, is also a professor at UNL in the Meteorology department.

“Working at the National Weather Service is a 24/7, 365 operation,” Barjenbruch said. “Our tornado outbreak last April was a stressful situation. Michaela is a valuable member of our team and has grown into her role quite well. She can turn this career into whatever she wants it to be. She’s a skilled meteorologist and great to work with. There are various career paths in this field that she could find herself in. I also wouldn’t be surprised if she ends up running a National Weather Service offic e one day.”

Even when not at work, Wood is on the RadarScope app checking weather events happening across the country. When hurricane Beryl made landfall, she watched the radar knowing that sometimes if the environment is right, multiple tornadoes have the potential to spin up when these hurricanes ma ke landfall.

“I’m working on getting my masters thesis published, which is kind of not what you would expect someone who’s lived in Nebraska to publish,” she said. “My thesis is on those tornadoes and those kinds of storms that spin up and land due to tropical cyclones. I spent time looking at different radar characteristics of those storms and comparing them to a typical storm that’s not involved in the tropical cyclones.”

Those storms that pop up in tropical cyclones are usually small and called “supercells.” Not much research has been done to look at the tornadic versus the non-tornadic storms radar characteristics, but Wood began this research as an employee at the National Weather Service.

When putting out tornado warnings, the service wants to keep the amount of false alarms as low as possible, but in storms like these, it can be tricky because they’re very small and short-lived. It can be challenging to predict exactly which ones are going to be tornadic or non-tornadic. The hope is to provide guidance to the local and federal agencies who iss ue warnings.

Barjenbruch first met Wood in his Severe Storms Meteorology course at UNL a few years back, when she was involved in the Student Volunteer program. Shortly after her time in that program, a job opened up at the National Weather Service.

“Michaela is a driven individual,” Barjenbruch said. “She has a great grasp of where she excels and where she can grow. She knows how quickly the weather can change and affect you directly and puts our best knowledge forward. She and everyone here at the National Weather Service want our community to be ready when the weather t urns south.”

The N.W.S. has people of all ages who job shadow. There’s certainly a big interest in weather for people who live out in the plains, and Wood loves chatting with them. When people think of weather or meteorologists, they seem to only think of the people on television. They don’t think of those behind the scenes and enthusiasts of all ages.

“Weather is a fun field. I encourage people to look into it regardless if you want to pursue it as a career or not,” Wood said. “It’s fun to learn about. It’s real time, you get to watch it with your own eyes. It encompasses science and compassion. Weather is a shared experience that we all know we’ll get through t ogether.”

To learn more, visit wea ther.gov

Weather is a shared experience that we all know we'll get through together.

–Michaela Wood

STORY BY CHRISTOPHER MCLUCAS | PHOTOGRAPHY BY BILL SITZMANN | DESIGN BY JOEY WINTON

Sports

Story Greg Echlin

Photography Bill Sitzmann

Design Joey Winton

f there’s one thing Omaha Westside High School linebacker Christian Jones reinforced to himself through all his recruiting trips in June as one of the best college football prospects in the state, it’s about how much he values his opportunity to sleep.

It was never more evident than the morning after Omaha Westside captured the 2022 Class A state football championship. Physically drained and sore all over from the previous night’s contest that ended, as time ran out, on a title-clinching field goal in the Warriors’ 43-41 heart-stopping victory, Jones wasn’t quite prepared for the next day’s wakeup call.

The team’s reporting time for the celebratory pep rally was at 8 am.

“Couldn’t even sleep in, so we were all halfasleep with eye black still on,” said Jones, now a senior and two years later still in disbelief over t he timeline.

He recalled and imitated the muttered drawl that he and his teammates asked in plaintive unison the following morning, “Why a re we here?”

Despite limited shut-eye that night, the chain of instantaneous events triggered by the kick, the game’s final buzzer, the pandemonium in the dog-pile celebration, and finally ensued by the alarm clock the next morning remain as Jones’ best foot ball memory.

It was quite the way for Paul Limongi to break in his first season as the Westside Warriors’ head coach. From his previous head coaching stint at Omaha Burke High School, Limongi knew Jones as an ei ghth-grader.

Linebacker Phenom Christian Jones

“We knew then that he was a kid that was going to be very special,” said Limongi. “Not so much athletically. He had the tools to be a great athlete, a great football player, but he was just mature beyond his age.”

Last summer, when Jones walked off the Westside football field one day after a steamy informal workout, the chiseled 6-foot4, 225-pounder also toted a book called “Discipline is Destiny: The Power of SelfControl” by Ryan Holiday. The Warriors read it as an off-season team assignment.

But Jones didn’t stop there and has even suggested some titles for Limongi, too, such as “The Inner Game of Tennis” by W. Timothy Gallwey.

“He loves books on motivation, how to improve, and elite mindset,” Limongi said. “He’s always looking for that edge mentally where he can be just a little bit better in his preparation than ever ybody else.”

Beyond football, Jones kept three things in mind during his recruiting sojourns for what he seeks as a college student-athlete next year: culture, education, and development.

“At Westside, we have a very, very strong culture and brotherhood here and I believe that it wins games,” Jones said. “It improves your life in every aspect, and people don’t understand the power behind it.”

Jones is also practical and will be prepared for the day his football career ends. He foresees himself working toward a business degree, which doesn’t surpr ise Limongi.

“He has the characteristics to be a successful man and that’s what we’re about,” said Limongi. “He’s diligent, he does the little things, he has attention to detail, he tries to outwork people. He does the things where greatness i s required.”

But Jones also recognizes that in college football his teammates and opponents will be not only built comparably to his size, but also five-star athletes from their respective hometowns and told how great they’re exp ected to be.

Jones says he’s ready to meet the challenges his opponent s will pose.

“I’m up for it, but I will beat them because I will have an elite mindset better than their s,” he said.

His father, Dave Jones, was listed at 6-foot-4 and 250 pounds as a senior defensive tackle for the Huskers at the University of Nebraska in 1997. But there were others like Jason Peter, a 1998 firstround draft choice by the NFL’s Carolina Panthers, listed ahead of him. As a result, the Osmond, Nebraska, native was further down the Huskers’ depth chart.

Though Christian is comparable in size to his father, their paths to college is w orlds apart.

Christian Jones has caught the attention of coaches from the most elite college football programs since he was a high-school freshman. But he has remained grounded through the process of everyone else telling him about hi s potential.

“I’ve been very blessed to have that ability to travel to all those amazing schools,” said Jones. “I’m very grateful for e verything.”

Follow the Westside Warriors’ football team at facebook.com/WestsideWarri orFootball/.

That’s how many deaf children are living in poverty around the world.

A staggering number, yet an almost invisible issue. How can a child without the use of language in an impoverished country h ave a voice?

This is the issue that Deaf Child Hope is working to alleviate. Founded in 2010 by JD King, Deaf Child Hope (DCH) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that aims to “bring hope to deaf children in poverty around the world by providing food and water, clothing, shelter, safety, language, acceptance, educational opportunities, encouragement, medical care, and the message of Je sus Christ.”

“My father had been working with deaf people since the ‘60s,” said King. “He started an organization called ‘Deaf Missions’ in 1971, and two years ago, they finished translating the entire Bible into sign language.” Aside from using this project to create the Deaf Bible app, Deaf Missions also produced a film in 2024 entitled “Jesus,” a film with all deaf actors.

“I led mission trips when I was younger, so I was exposed to poverty,” King continued. “I started learning just how many deaf children are in poverty…so the good Lord put in my heart that I needed to do somethi ng about it.

“The struggles these kids face are unimaginable. In the United States, about one in 1,000 people are born deaf. In developing countries, it’s more like three per 1,000 because of illnesses, lack of nutrition, lack

of medical care, things like that…people seem to think that deaf kids automatically know sign language, but they don’t. So these children grow up and have to live life without any language.”

Not only is deafness more common in impoverished countries, the lack of care is insufficient for a decent quality of life. “Most of the time, the parents don’t think they’re worth anything,” King explained. “They think they’re stupid and not worth educating, and they often think they’re cursed. So it’s also a spiritual thing a lot of times the family or the community will think the child is deaf because they are cursed, and then they don’t want the child because they think the curse wi ll spread.”

DCH has spent the last 14 years caring for and educating deaf children in poverty. Through sponsorships, anyone can “adopt” a deaf child and provide financial support. “It’s through those sponsorships that we can pay for food, clothing, shelter, education, those kinds of things,” said King. “People can write to their child, if the child can write, or they’ll just draw pictures. They can go visit the child if they want to, we can try to arrange that. The correspondence is important.”

Grace McCoy, Field Director for DCH, was a natural fit for the role, as she has not only a teaching degree, but past experience with overseas mission trips. She recently returned from Kenya, where she visits the deaf schools and ensures the children are thriving. "A lot of my time was networking. I was able to meet people from different countries in Africa, and they shared their stories about deaf schools there and the struggles,” McCoy signed. “Our goal is to partner with them and help those children so they can have hope and a future where they can receive an education and ha ve language.

“God has really planned this all out for this job with DCH,” McCoy continued. “Just being with the deaf kids is my favorite part. They have faced so many hardships but they’re full of joy and happy to see

you and play with you…I went to Kenya last year, but going back this year I have seen the children one year later and it’s encouraging to see that they’re doing well because we’re helping them. I’m excited to visit every year or two and see their growth in diffe rent areas.”

Being born deaf herself, McCoy said it’s easier to connect with the children. “Kenyan Sign Language is different than American Sign Language, but because I was able to pick it up so easily, and because I’m deaf myself, it’s easier to build relationships and communicate with them and there are no barriers.”

“There are over 300 sign languages in the world,” said King. “These children don’t know any of them. We’re trying to cha nge that.”

To learn more or donate to Deaf Child Hope, visit deafch ildhope.org.

Deaf Child Hope’s Mission to Educate and Inspire

...people seem to think that deaf kids automatically know sign language, but they don't. So these children grow up and have to live life without any language.

–JD King

GIVING CALENDAR

OCTOBER 2024

COMPILED

BY

ISABELLA MCATEE

October 1

SUPPORT OUR GIRLS 1M, 5K, 10K, 13.1, 26.2

Benefits: Breast Cancer Research Foundation

Location: TBA — bcrf.org

October 1

PUMPKIN SPICE AND EVERYTHING NICE 1M, 5K, 10K, 13.1, 26.2

Benefits: Stillborn and Infant Loss

Support (SAILS)

Location: TBA —bornintosilence.org

October 3

IOWA BICYCLE SUMMIT 2024

Benefits: Iowa Bicycle Coalition

Location: Holiday Inn & Suites Council Bluffs-I-29 —iowabicyclecoalition.org

October 3

4TH ANNUAL CELEBRATE GOOD GALA

Benefits: Goodwill Industries Serving Eastern Nebraska and Southwest Iowa

Location: The Relevant Center —goodwillomaha.org

October 4

AN EVENING AMONG ANGELS:BLACK TIE AFFAIR

Benefits: Angels Among Us

Location: A View West Shores —myangelsamongus.org

FEATURED EVENT

October 19

2024 A KSARBEN BALL

A KSARBEN BALL

Benefits: Aksarbe n Foundation

Location: CHI Health Center Omaha aksarben.org

Rooted in a rich history of service and philanthropy spanning over a century, the Aksarben Foundation is one of Nebraska’s leading civic organizations. The event is an evening of celebration to honor citizens of Nebraska and western Iowa for going above and beyond to embody the Spirit of Aksarben in all they do. The Aksarben Ball raises dollars to fund scholarships for students who are attending post-secondary school in Nebraska as well as supports workforce development and community grants.

October 5

FANNIE LOU HAMER LEGACY LUNCHEON

Benefits: Women of Color Nebraska Caucus

Location: DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Omaha Downtown —wocneb.com

October 5

A VINTAGE AFFAIRE XVI

Benefits: Autism Action Partnership

Location: Embassy Suites La Vista —autismaction.org

October 6

FEATHER OUR NEST 2023

Benefitting Fontenelle Forest

Location: Fontenelle Forest Nature Center —fontenelleforest.org/fon/

October 6

OMAHA WALK TO END HYDROCEPHALUS

Benefits: Hydrocephalus Association

Location: Chalco Hills Recreation Area —hydroassoc.org

October 6

NEBRASKA CHAPTER: GOLFING FOR FAMILIES

Benefits: Gift of Adoption Fund

Location: Top Golf —giftofadoption.org

October 6

LOGAN-MAGNOLIA AFTER PROM MATTRESS FUNDRAISER

Benefits: Logan-Magnolia Community School

Location: LoganMagnolia Community School, Logan, IA —lomaschools.org

October 6

DON & MILLIE’S FUNDRAISER

Benefits: The Kays Foundation

Location: Don & Millie's, 14321 Harrison St. —kaysfoundation.com

October 8

LIGHTING THE SPARK—THE STUDY OF MOVEMENT

Benefits: Omaha STEM Ecosystem

Location: University of Nebraska Omaha —omahastem.com

October 10

SHINING STARS 2024

Benefits: Lift Up Sarpy County

Location: Peter Fink American Muscle Car Museum —/liftupsarpycounty.org

October 10

LATINO CENTER OF THE MIDLANDS’ DESTINO 2024

Benefits: Latino Center of the Midlands

Location: Scott Conference Center —latinocenter.org

October 10

CHARIOT CHAMPIONS INVITATIONAL

Benefits: Chariots4Hope

Location: Indian Creek Golf Club —chariots4hope.org/chariotchampions-invitational

October 11

A NIGHT OF HOPE GALA

Benefits: Nebraska Cancer

Specialists Hope Foundation

Location: Omaha Marriott Downtown–Capital District —ncshopefoundation.org

October 11

A FUNDRAISER FOR THE CHURCH/ART HOUSE

Benefits: The Church/Art House —thechurcharthouse.love

October 11

HOT SHOPS FALL FUNDRAISER

Benefits: Hot Shops Art Center

Location: Hot Shops Art Center —hotshopsartcenter.com

October 11

RABBLE MILL 2024 FUNDRAISER BREAKFAST

Benefits: Rabble Mill

Location: Benson Theatre —rabblemill.org

October 11-13

KIDS & CLAYS SPORTING CLAYS TOURNAMENT

Benefits: Ronald McDonald House Omaha

Location: Oak Creek Sporting Club, Brainard, NE —rmhcomaha.org

October 12

BLUE JEAN BALL FUNDRAISING EVENT

Benefits: Maisy & Marley’s Purpose

Location: Westfair Fairgrounds —facebook.com/p/Maisy-Marleys-Purpose

October 12

BIRDIES AND BOGIES FOR BOOOBIES

Benefits: Pink Bandana

Location: Tara Hills Golf Course, Papillion —pinkbandana.org

October 12

FARM FEST 2024

Benefits: City Sprouts

Location: The Venue at Highlander Accelerator —omahasprouts.org

October 12

BIGFOOT! 1M, 5K, 10K, 13.1, 26.2

Benefits: The National Park Foundation

Location: TBA —nationalparks.org

October 13

2024 WALK TO END ALZHEIMER’S

Benefits: Alzheimer’s Association Nebraska

Location: CSM Flames Fieldhouse —alz.org/nebraska

COUNSELING CONNECTIONS & ASSOCIATES

Dr. Kristi Tackett-Newburg Founder/Owner

OUR TOP PROVIDERS

Salina Anderson, APRN

Geraldine Alexis, LIMHP, PLADC

Julie Bierman, LCSW, LMHP

Chantel Bruha, LIMHP, LADC

Korrie Conners, LMHP, CSAT

Kirby Davis, LMHP

Peggy Deaver, LIMHP, CPC

Davin Dickerson, APRN

Beth Farrell, LCSW, LIMHP

Dumayi Gutierrez, PhD, LMHP

Lucy Hancock, MA

Charlene Hills, LCSW, LIMHP

KG Langdon, APRN

Mary Loftis, LMHP, CPC

Kim Mueller, LIMHP, CPC

Nicole Obrecht, LIMHP

Kara Schneider, BA

Marty Stoltenberg, APRN-BC

Kristi Tackett-Newburg, PhD, LIMHP

Greg Tvrdik, LIMHP, CPC

Sarah Wenzl, LMHP, CPC

Michele Yanney-Wehbi, LIMHP, CPC

Jaime Arredondo Popol

October 13

HAUNTED HALOWEEN 1M, 5K, 10K, 13.1, 26.2

Benefits: American SIDS Institute

Location: TBA —sids.org

October 16

PLATTSMOUTH TEAMMATES SCHOLARSHIP FUNDRAISER

Benefits: TeamMates Mentoring Program of Plattsmouth

Location: Saint John the Baptist Catholic School, Plattsmouth —chapters.teammates.org/ chapters/plattsmouth

October 17

CLASSIC CAR FUNDRAISER

Benefits: Keep Kids Alive Drive 25

Location: Certified Transmission Car Museum —keepkidsalivedrive25.org

October 18

THE BAY’S FUNDRAISER BREAKFAST

Benefits: The Bay Location: The Bay | Lincoln —thebay.org

October 18

LEAD THE CHANGE ANNUAL EVENT

Benefits: Women’s Fund of Omaha Location: CHI Center —omahawomensfund.org

October 19

DARE TO BELIEVE FUNDRAISING GALA

Benefits: Center for Holistic Development Location: The Venue at Highlander —chdomaha.org

October 20

HOT CIDER HUSTLE 10K & 5K

Benefits: Make-A-Wish Nebraska

Location: Skutt Catholic High School —wish.org/nebraska

October 20

IMAGINE OHB’S ANNUAL FUNDRAISING EVENT Benefits: Omaha Home for Boys Location: The Barn at Ackerhurst Dairy Farm —ohb.org

October 24

HARMONY IN HEALTHCARE CELEBRATION

Benefits: Inspire Collaborative Health Association

Location: Zenia Omaha —inspirehealthassociation.com

October 25

2024 BENEFIT ART AUCTION

Benefits: Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts

Location: Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts —bemiscenter.org

October 25

2024 ANNUAL MEETING

Benefits: United Way of the Midlands

Location: CHI Health Center Omaha —unitedwaymidlands.org

October 26

SPAGHETTI DINNER FUNDRAISER

Benefits: American Legion

Location: Benson American Legion Family Post #112 —facebook.com/ BensonAmericanLegion

October 30

CAREER CLOSET DONATION DROP-OFF

Benefits: UNO’s Career Closet

Location: UNO Thompson Alumni Center —unoalumni.org/stay-involved/ programs/career-closet

We offer scleral and other specialty contact lenses that can relieve any discomfort or vision issues you are experiencing with soft contact

Did you know the increasing amount of screentime is causing children to develop myopia/ nearsightedness. Children ages 5-19 are most at risk for myopia progression. We offer specialized contact lenses that control myopia progression and can even eliminate the need for glasses. See if your child is a candidate today!

STORY BY DAISY HUTZELL-RODMAN // PHOTOGRAPHY BY BILL SITZMANN // DESIGN BY RENEE LUDWICK

DIAGNOSING RESILIENCE

DANIELLE HERZOG

DEMONSTRATES ACCEPTANCE

anielle Herzog understood what it meant to school-age children to be represented. As a school counselor, Herzog saw students in her office who struggled to fit in with friends, family, and/or others within their race, gender, or sexuality. She saw dozens of students, letting them know they were okay just a s they were.

It was a statement she sometimes needed to hear herself, although she may not have realized it. The married mother of two had a great career as a teacher and was going strong when, in 2020, her life began to take a turn.

In early March 2020, Herzog and her family were at Great Wolf Lodge for spring break. En route to Kansas City, Herzog received a call from her doctor’s office informing her that her recent mammogram showed some irregularity. This was as the local and national news was reporting on a deadly virus that was sweeping the world. Cruise ships were stranded with passengers unable to disembark; bars and restaurants started to shut down; and people began remote work from home. The Herzogs’ vacation had a dark cloud hanging over it that was about to grow even darker.

The next day, while at the lodge, Herzog received notice that Omaha Public Schools, for whom she had worked at Harrison Elementary School since 2017, was shutting down.

“At the same time I’m finding out that something’s happening with my body, I’m having to go into this emergency mindset of ‘What does this look like, as a counselor, to be in a pandemic?’” Herzog said.

With new, changing health protocols in place, she went into her doctor’s office alone several days later for a biopsy, which revealed that she had two malignant tumors right next to each other in her breast. She went into a lumpectomy, alone, with a note attached to her shirt stating: “If lost, please return to Matt Herzog or George Clooney.”

Herzog attended radiation treatments alone, ultimately coming through treatment just fine. She then threw herself into supporting breast cancer efforts so that others didn’t have to undergo a similar experience. Herzog participated in 5Ks, wore pink, and became a champion for the condition that medical professionals caught early and eliminated.

She may have celebrated too soon. In February 2024, nearly four years to the date after she received the phone call about her cancerous lump, she felt another one in a similar area to the previous mass. Her reaction was, “It’s fine.” There was scar tissue from her lumpectomy, and she figured that’s what she felt. Herzog went on a girls’ trip with friends. She didn’t tell her husband about her discovery. She left it alone for three weeks before following up with her doctor, who initially agreed that it was potentially scar tissue, but nevertheless ordered an ultrasound, which revealed a new mass.

“I asked the technician if there was fluid in the tumor, and they told me there was not,” Herzog said. “So then I thought, ‘Oh, my God, what is this?’”

Fluid in a mass often indicates a benign cyst as opposed to a cancerous one. Herzog again had breast cancer, and this time, it proved more aggressive, more severe. In a matter of weeks, she went from “let’s check this out” to a double mastectomy, a hysterectomy, and chemotherapy. An infection occurred from the mastectomy, and her healthcare team had to redo th at one side.

Not only was the cancer different, her mindset also became different. Herzog became withdrawn with the strength she found from being a champion for breast cancer survivors and advocacy gone. She broke down and cried with her husband, unable to handle being around a lot of people.

Just as with the first diagnosis, not only was her physical body changing, she was also going through major life changes. Two days after learning she had cancer again, she interviewed for a new job, this time as assistant principal for Paddock Road with D istrict 66.

One thing that brought her joy, however, was the fact that her book was coming out in a couple months.

Writing was the other love of Herzog’s life. She graduated from college with a bachelor’s degree in English and had written web and print articles most of her adult life. She had earned credits in the Washington Post as well as the Huffington Post, was a

columnist for the Omaha World-Herald’s Momaha, and her “Martinis and Minivans” blog had over 2,000 likes on Facebook by 2013, when she shut it down due to wanting to respect her childre n’s privacy.

As a veteran freelance writer, Herzog understood the power of storytelling, and she accordingly developed an interest in writing both picture books and novels for middle-grade readers, who range in age fr om 8 to 12.

“I was utilizing picture books constantly,” Herzog said of her work as a school counselor. “I had so many students that would come to me individually, struggling with their identity …this was a very common theme that wou ld come up.”

“I had so many students that would come to me individually, struggling with their identity …this was a very common theme that wou ld come up.”

— Dan ielle Herzog

That’s when the educator realized she could help her students and continue writing. One day, in the span of about an hour, she conceived a story about a fluffy-tailed, giant-eared, colorful animal, who is asked by the other animals to define himself. The animal, named Lou, isn't able to give a oneword answer. The book, titled “What Are You, Lou?” reveals the protagonist’s unique character and self acceptance.

Crafting the initial story was the easy part. She put it aside, edited it in her brain, then on paper. She showed it to a few friends who are also writers, who gave her feedback and then changed parts of the story from there.

It took several months before she thought it was ready for publication. Herzog finally sent it to a couple agents, who rejected the work because it wasn’t part of their wheelhouse. She worked on it harder, edited it more. Finally, she discovered an open call for manuscripts by Beaming Books, a publisher that produces children’s books to help kids thrive emotionally, socially, and spiritually. It’s an imprint of the Christian-based

1517 Media. This book, with its message of acceptance and loving oneself no matter how unique a creature is, rang true with the imprint, which picked it up for publication.

“It was amazing, and and we cheered,” she shared, “and they were like, ‘It’s coming out in two years.’”

It was a process. The initial editor who read the book took it to the publisher’s acquisitions team, who determines whether or not a story is salable. Then the editorial department combed through the story and suggest ed changes.

In this particular case, the book included garnering illustrations, which were done by Jestenia Southerland of Dover, Delaware.

“As soon as I saw her illustration samples, I knew she was the right person for the job. She nailed the look I imagined for the characters including Lou,” Herzog said, noting. that Southerland was commissioned by the publisher.

Val Howlett, senior publicity and marketing specialist with Beaming Books, said Danielle was motivated to see this book to production in spite of her health.

“Danielle Herzog is a talented, thoughtful author and a joy to work with. She’s been very proactive in promoting “What Are You, Lou?” No one at Beaming Books even knew she was going through cancer treatment during the lead-up to her book launch until she sent me the article in the Omaha World-Herald that discussed that challenge. I am impressed by her skill as a writer and her ability to pu sh through.”

By the time Herzog’s children’s book rolled off the presses, she was starting chemotherapy to rid herself of the cancer that was ravaging her body for a s econd time.

Through it all, her determination and spirit enabled her to be resilient and accepting of the changes she has gone through mentally, physically, and emotionally. She is now working on a middle-grade book and recovering from the surgeries and chemotherapy.

“I’m so happy I wrote this book,” Herzog said of “What Are You, Lou?” “I think it’s very interesting that the book came out in the midst of this cancer. You know, of this fabulous reminder of s taying true to yourself.”

For more information about “What Are You, Lou” and Herzog’s other work, visit daniell eherzog.com.

Transforming Health & Wellness

Susi Amendola’s Teaching Legacy

STORY BY BRANDI LONG-FRANK // PHOTOGRAPHY BY BILL SITZMANN // DESIGN BY RENEE LUDWICK

With over 40 years of teaching experience, Susi Amendola has profoundly influenced the field of yoga therapy. From her early days as a student at a yoga ashram to becoming a renowned yoga therapist, Amendola’s journey reflected her dedication to using yoga for healing and stress management.

“When I started teaching yoga, yoga therapy wasn’t a recognized field. It emerged in the ‘90s when I and others began merging yoga with medicine, using it as a complement to medical treatments,” Amendola recounted.

Initially, yoga in the United States had a spiritual focus, but as its popularity grew, the emphasis shifted to physical fitness and postures. Today, yoga therapy has tailored yoga practices to help people manage specific illnesses, integrating with hospitals and medical teams nationwide.

Amendola’s new book, “The Centered Heart: Evidence-Based Mind-Body Practices to Stress Less and Improve Cardiac Health,” was a testament to her expertise and experience. Inspired by her personal struggles with anxiety and her extensive work in yoga therapy, Amendola shared, “Yoga was introduced to me and saved my life. I studied at a yoga ashram at 18, seeking deeper knowledge of health. After several years there, I moved to Omaha and started a y oga center.”

In 1993, Amendola was approached by Ornish Lifestyle Medicine to be a stress management specialist for a Lifestyle Heart trial. She worked with patients for 12 years and then joined the Ornish national team, training others to deliver the program in hospitals nationwide. “Over the years, I saw improvements in heart disease, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, autoimmune diseases, and more. This experience highlighted the

significant impact of stress on chronic illness, prompting me to write about practices that build nervous system resilience.”

Integrating yoga into cardiac rehab programs came with unique challenges and rewards. Amendola highlighted, “One major challenge was getting insurance to cover the program. After many years of effort, Medicare now covered it, and it could be done virtually.” Another hurdle was introducing yoga for healing to people who either misunderstood yoga or thought it was too difficult.

Despite these issues, the outcomes were rewarding. “I’ve seen people reverse heart disease and other chronic illnesses, regain mobility, and some even come off heart transplant lists within weeks.”

Amendola also developed yoga-based stress management programs for various settings, including schools, businesses, and hospitals. One particularly impactful program involved working with a group of at-risk teen girls. “They were so traumatized that they would fall asleep during yoga poses. This was before specific trauma-informed protocols in yoga, so I adapted practices to be more trauma-informed. This approach was incredibly helpful, and the girls looked forward to it each week.”

Michelle Miller, a former student of Amendola’s, said, “Amendola is the best teacher I’ve ever had. Her yoga instruction

has had a profound impact on my overall health and wellbeing. I have also learned so much from watching her teach. I have emulated her very student-centered teaching style in my own classroom and have grown as a teacher through her guidance and mentorship. Omaha is so lucky to have her!”

Over the years, Amendola saw significant benefits in her students, especially those who integrated her teachings into their daily lives. “Beyond the physical and emotional changes I regularly saw, I also noticed a sense of autonomy. People took back their power to heal, connecting to their inner wisdom and intuition. They recognized they had more agency in their health and healing than they might hav e imagined.”

As the founder and director of Yoga Now: A Pathway to Peace in Omaha, Amendola’s vision had always been about serving the community. “I aimed to create a place where people could come together to practice and learn from ancient teachings while improving their health and wellbeing. Another part of my vision was to help people realize their connection to a universal consciousness, transcending the prevalent ‘us vs. them’ mentality. This sense of oneness and connection to all beings was essential, as ultimately, everyone sought happiness.”

Amendola’s teaching legacy and contributions to yoga therapy profoundly impacted countless lives, bringing holistic healing and stress management practices to the forefront of modern medicine. Her new book, “The Centered Heart,” continues to inspire and guide individuals toward better health and wellbeing.

To learn more, visit do yoganow.com.

“Yoga was introduced to me and saved my life.”

-Susi Amendola

AThe Rhythm Boys Central High’s Famed 1967 Basketball Dream Team

nyone who attended Central High School in the late 1960s, or anyone involved in the high school sports world at the time, will likely remember Central’s “Rhythm Boys,” as they became affection ately known.

The Rhythm Boys were the starting lineup for Central’s basketball team in 1967-68. A cloud of controversy swirled around them, for a couple of reasons, the most predominant of which was the fact that all the starters Dwaine Dillard, Willie Frazier, John Biddle, Phil Griffin, and Roy Hunter were Black.

During a time when racial tensions in America were at an all-time high, these five young men were both celebrities and targets of ridicule. Amidst an intense political climate, their story is perhaps not remembered by the world, as was the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the memorable rhetoric of activists like Ernie Chambers and Malcolm X, but it is a powerful story nonetheless.

An important role in this story was played by Warren Marquiss, the head coach of the Central basketball team. Concerned only with the talent his team had to offer and not with racial biases, Marquiss saw Dwaine Dillard, standing six feet, five inches, on a basketball court and immediately took an interest. “[Dillard] walked around the gym on his hands,” said junior varsity coach, Jim Martin. “For a guy that tall to have that balance and strength and coordination it was fabulous.”

Dillard and Marquiss developed a close relationship, and it’s easy to see why. Marquiss, a white man in his 40s at the time, truly cared for his players. Dillard said, “He was a father to all of us a great father image to me especially, because I had no fat her image.”

As Steve Marantz wrote in his award-winning book, “The Rhythm Boys of Omaha Central: High School Basketball at the ’68 Racial Divide,” published in 2011 by Bison Books, Marquiss often provided essentials for his team. “For his poorest black players,” Marantz wrote, “he bought collared shirts, ties, slacks, and sport coats, so that they could meet his dress code. The money came from his own modest salary, as it did when he bought their families a bag of groceries… Somehow, Marquiss found money for team meals, too often in his own pocket.”

Though Marquiss was confident in his new team, there still lingered some doubt and upset at h is decision.

“[Marquiss] won’t start five Blacks,” Griffin said to a teammate. “The school board won’t allow it.”

Indeed, the school board, with J. Arthur Nelson in the principal’s chair, was concerned about public image regarding race. Though Nelson, who himself often used racial slurs, opposed Marquiss’ preferred lineup, he eventual ly gave in.

The new starting lineup proved to be highly successful and very popular among the students at Central.

Don Lee, a reporter for the Omaha World Herald, wrote of one game played by Central and Creighton Prep, “It was a fiveman victory, with the Rhythm Boys playing the entire 32 minutes. Willie Frazier, John Biddle, Phil Griffin, and Roy Hunter lined up behind the fabulous Dillard.”

Thus the nickname “Rhythm Boys” was printe d and stuck.

Victories abounded for the team, despite personal struggles. Dillard had been a victim of racial profiling by police during a nighttime cruise with friends and was arrested. Frazier was navigating teenage relationships with white girls at the school, one of whom ended up pregnant, and one who continually wrote about him in her diary, confused and saddened by the societal disapproval of interracial romance. Biddle (and others) had dealt with riots and looting in the area where his mother’s business, Sadie’s Home Bakery, stood, standing outside the storefront in case it needed protecting, noting, “That [shop] was our livelihood.” Presidential candidate George Wallace, a firm believer in segregation and other racist ideals, had incited riots at his rallies in Omaha, during which police and Black citizens unleashed violence on each other in crowds, causing collat eral damage.

Still, the young men pressed on in the sport they loved; basketball seemed to b e an escape.

That perseverance paid off, and the Rhythm Boys are still today remembered as perhaps the best high school basketball team to have ever played in Nebraska.

For more information, visit steve marantz.com.

From Blank Page To

Avenue Scholars’ Next Chapter

It started with a blank page. Dr. Ken Bird, who was nearing retirement from his role as superintendent of the Westside Community Schools, wasn’t quite sure what his post-work life was going to look like. But, unbeknownst to him, fate had already mapped out his future.

Between 2006-2008, Bird noticed an alarming number of articles written about the plight of Black men in the Omaha community. In fact, a 2007 study by the Omaha World Herald concluded the midwest metropolis was the worst place for a Black man to live; it had the highest Black child poverty rate in the nation and third-highest poverty rate for Black residents among the 100 largest metro areas in the Un ited States.

Prior to the 2021 death of Kiewit Corporation CEO Walter Scott, Bird was having a discussion with him about a scholarship program in Wisconsin called the Kalamazoo Promise, which covers tuition and mandatory fees at more than 60 eligible Michigan institutions from colleges and universities to trade schools and vocational programs for qualifying students.

Scott and Burlington Capital founder Michael Yanney asked Bird to look into it and see if it was something he’d be interested in replicating for the Omaha community. Initially uninterested, he eventually decided that if they were going to it, it had to provide more than just sc holarships.

“I realized scholarships buy you access, but they do not get you any success in college or towards high school graduation rate,” he explained. “My goal was to help the community, help young people who are underserved and underrepresented in our community.

“My last six months as superintendent at Westside, I had the flexibility and the support of Walter with some funding to go around the country and look at a few programs. There were some really good college access programs, but there was nothing integrated together. I knew we had to design our own model.”

And that’s when the idea for Avenue Scholars was born. Now in its sixteenth year, the youth-serving organization has transformed the lives of more than 750 students through educational support, financial guidance, and career development opportunities. Starting in high school and extending through career entry, Avenue Scholars’ primary purpose is to bridge the gap between a student’s education and the ir careers.

With initial funding from The Sherwood Foundation, Holland Foundation, Lozier Foundation, The Suzanne & Walter Scott Foundation, Weitz Family Foundation, and the William & Ruth Scott Family Foundation, Avenue Scholars quickly moved to the high school-embedded program model, with a focus on students in financial need who were aiming toward degrees and held a GPA of 2.5 or lower.

“What

we’re doing is not rocket science. It doesn’t take extraordinary efforts. It just takes organization, a focus on these kids, and meeting them at t h eir needs.”

- Dr. Ken Bird

Northwest, Benson, and Ralston were the first schools to join and were soon followed by Bryan, Omaha North, and Millard South. Westside, Millard North, Omaha South, Papillion LaVista, and Blair would eventually round out the 11 high schools currently participating in the Avenue Schola rs program.

Hanna Harvey, an Avenue Scholar graduate, was selected for the program while attending Millard West High School. Born to a single mother, Harvey believed her financial limitations made it impossible to pursue college, so she never seriously entertained the idea, but through a program at Metropolitan Community College (MCC), she got into the welding academy her senior year of h igh school.

“I was doing half day at my high school and then half day at MCC,” Harvey recalled. “That was what got me in the door, and then we found Avenue Scholars. I was incredibly blessed that they offered me a scholarship, making it possible for me to go to college. I had fallen in love with welding, but having the ability to get an education, I learned so much more than I would have if I just had gotten into the field straight in. I cannot speak highly enough about Avenue Scholars. They are an amazing organization and the resources that they give to you and the people that they put you in contact with opens so m any doors.”

Harvey graduated from MCC in 2021 with an associates in welding technology and now works at Lanoha Nurseries on West Center Road in its fabric ation shop.

“If I would have been a little lost, struggling a little bit, or didn’t know where to go, Avenue Scholars would have absolutely done everything in their power to get me an interview,” she said. “I’m just so grateful that something like th is exists.”

Avenue Scholars has intersected with more than 1,760 unique employers since 2014. One of those is QLI: Brain and Spinal Cord Injury Specialists, a world-class rehab center in Northwest Omaha.

Melissa Elvig, coordinator of QLI’s IMPACT Workforce Development Program, has personally witnessed more than 100 students who were interested in a health-focused career come throug h the door.

“We’ve been doing CME training with Avenue Scholars students and offering them internships over the years,” she said. “It’s so rewarding to be able to be a part of their

mission and to help these students through these programs and work alongside them. Avenue Scholars is addressing the challenges and barriers some young adults are facing, especially in our community, and helping them pursue meaningful careers. The empowerment they give these students leads them to see their full potential.”

After nearly two decades at the helm of Avenue Scholars, Dr. Bird is stepping down from his role as CEO and passing the torch to President/COO Lindsay Decker. The Board of Directors Chairperson Susie Buffett, Director Jeff Schmid, Director Calvin Sisson, and Director Katie Weitz, Ph.D. will continue providing guidance and support for the program. Dr. Bird has the utmost confidence in Decker and the rest of the staff to propel the program forward, as does Elvig.

“Dr. Bird is passionate about investing in the next generation and growth of these students,” she said. “It’s reflected in everything you see from the program to the staff. In the five years participating with them, there’s been so much growth in the program. His vision and ability to communicate his mission to others is a huge testament to him and his leadership.

“Right now he’s planning for succession and that takes a lot, but he’s bringing others alongside him. He’s built up these fantastic leaders like Lindsay, who will be taking that lead. The whole program is going to live and thrive far b eyond him.”

Admittedly, stepping down was a difficult decision for Dr. Bird. After all, the mission behind Avenue Scholars is intensely personal. Growing up in a blue collar family, college was a pipe dream, but through his work at Westside and the support of his peers, he was able to earn multiple degrees. “I would have been an Avenue Scholars kid,” he said.

He continued, “It’s my baby, so it’s very hard. It was very hard to retire from Westside. Selfishly, I’d tell you I had the best superintendency in the midwest. It was just a great school district, great board, and had lots of community support. But I thought the time was right for new leadership there and honestly, I wanted to try something different. I didn’t know what it was going to be. It became this. Avenue Scholars is harder. It literally came from a blank page, a lot of my own personal experiences and what I thought we needed in education.”

Even as Dr. Bird prepares to vacate his position, his focus remains on his past, present, and future Scholars. In fact, he hopes the Nebraska Department of Education will one day embrace the Avenue Scholars bus iness model.

“We have these young people that were in horrible situations, and we know there’re so many of them,” he said. “We’re only scratching the surface in here. Our best hope is to be a best practice, to be able to show off what can be done. My hope is the Department of Education could do some things with their funding formula to support this. I know they’re looking at it. What we’re doing is not rocket science. It doesn’t take extraordinary efforts. It just takes organization, a focus on these kids, and meeting them at t heir needs.

“Organizationally, we’ve redefined success. After 38 years at Westside, I measured success in grade point averages, courses completed, and degrees and scholarships earned. That was success for me. But the reality is, if you can graduate from high school, be equipped to get the training and support to get a meaningful job, that has a clear ladder to a career pathway, that’s success.”

To learn more, visit aves ch olars.org.

“Dr.

Bird is passionate about investing in the next generation and growth of these students. It’s reflected in everything you see from the program to the staff. In the five years participating with them, there’s been so much growth in the program. His vision and ability to communicate his mission to others is a huge testament to him and his leadership.” - M eliss a Elvig

An Apple for Teacher

is for Apple” is one of the first phrases we encounter when learning the alphabet, so it’s fitting that as children settle into their classroom routines this fall, they join their families or school field trips for an apple picking outing to remember. Apple-picking season tends to run through October, so whether you’re planning on eating an apple plucked right from the branch or making that all-American staple, apple pie, check out our top picks for pecks in, around, and close to the metro:

DITMARS ORCHARD & VINEYARD

19475 225th St, Council Bluffs, IA 51503 | ditmarsorchard.com

In addition to picking your own juicy apples, this beloved orchard, founded in 1994, includes a vineyard, wine, pumpkin patch, and specialty food items, ranging from spicy corn fritters and tater ribbons to apple cider donuts and four kinds of apple pies. Also on offer are apple cider, hard cider. and wine. Ditmars has been an annual tradition for families and classrooms alike, and there’s nothing like walking the rows between sun-dappled apple trees heavy with ripe apples.

WOSTREL FAMILY’S UNION ORCHARD

2405 South Hwy 75, Union, Nebraska 68455 | unionorchard.com

Dating to 1875, this orchard has been producing apples for almost a century and a half. With a “Ripening Calendar” to check apple availability on Facebook, you’re certain to visit during peak picking season. October also offers the opportunity to transition from apples to pumpkins for even more “pick-your-own” fun. If picking isn’t your thing, you can stop by the Central Apple Market for the convenience of fresh apples without the effort or visit the Country Store & Farm Market, which also features an outdoor grill that serves hamburgers, cheeseburgers, hot dogs, and brats, plus baconwrapped pulled pork skewers.

SUPER BEE ORCHARD

4571 US-75, Fort Calhoun, NE 68023 | facebook.com/p/ Super-Bee-Orchard-100064841312243/

MARTIN’S HILLSIDE ORCHARD

2024 Ashland Rd, Ceresco, NE 68017 | hillside-orchard.com

Billed as “The Best Little Orchard Around,” Martin’s has a bumper crop of apples this year. The usual apple favorites, including the popular Honey Crisp variety, are all on offer to fill your bushel. The orchard has plenty of kid-friendly actives, including a child-sized corn maze, wagon rides, and samplings of cider slush. The website features several recipes like apple fitters, apple dumplings, and apple tarts so you have plans for when you arrive home with your hand-picked harvest.

ARBOR DAY FARM

2611 Arbor Avenue, Nebraska City, NE 68410 | arbordayfarm.org

Boasting 260 acres of natural beauty and outdoor exploration , Arbor Day Farm— a national historic treasure known as the birthplace of Arbor Day, has plenty on offer for family fun. From a cider-maker tasting experience to the “Sunset & S’Mores Discovery Ride,” there’s nothing quite like fall at the farm, which encourages people to plant, nurture, and celebrate trees. Also home to the Lied Lodge and Tree Adventure, you can take a mini family vacation to this special Nebraska treasure.

VALA’S PUMPKIN PATCH

12102 S 180th St, Gretna, NE 68028 | valaspumpkinpatch.com

They might be best-known for their pumpkin patch and Halloween theme park, but Vala’s also boasts one of Nebraska's largest apple orchards. With over 45 varieties of apples, you’ll have plenty for salads (Cortlands!), caramel apples (Empires!), and much more. Planted on a modern trellis system, it’s easy for all ages to pick, pluck, and gather. Throughout their growing season, Vala’s offers classic apple varieties such as Honeycrisp and Jonathan, as well as new, unique varieties like Ludacrisp and Sweet Zinger. 1 3 5 2 4 6

This family-owned and operated orchard in Fort Calhoun provides tons of fun for families and includes trees that are easily accessible for small children and strollers. Open seven days a week, the atmosphere is small-town and family friendly. Don’t leave without a gallon of their “Delicious and Sweet” Super Bee Orchard Apple Cider or, in a nod to their name, a container of bee pollen or honey, which comes in multiple flavors. Super Bee also carries a wide selection of preserves, jams, and fruit butters.

aron Bush, co-owner of B5 Brewery, is a man of many interests and pursuits. Or, as he put it, “If I have a passion for something, get out of my way.”

Though B5 Brewing Company only recently opened in the spring of 2024, they’ve already earned a reputation as a family-owned brewery that welcomes everyone in with a smile, an enthusiastic greeting, and an eclectic array of beers. B5 was named for the family who opened and run the brewery: the Bush family—and there are five of them, hence the name—including Aaron, Kate, and their three kids, Josh, Julia , and Jack.

The “kids” aren’t children anymore, as they’re all in their twenties now, but B5 Brewing Company is still a family aff air nonetheless. With the occasional aunt or uncle jumping in to help set things up and run the place, B5 Brewery feels so familiar and friendly because it’s run by a family of friendly people who love what they do.

A comfortable space with communal tables, a children’s corner, and, as Aaron reports, the nicest women’s restrooms in all of Omaha, B5 Brewing Company is located in the heart of Benson. The location is perfect for passersby to peek in the window, feel compelled to check the space out, and be beckoned inside by Aaron.

Aaron said B5 thrives on foot traffic, adding that it isn’t necessarily a destination brewery. “I don’t have a parking lot. You come here and walk the street and try different places and foods, beverages, wine bars, cocktail bars…it’s just a great place to socialize.” He added that he enjoys how the historic Benson neighborhood seldom gets out of hand. “There’s a little riff raff there, but for the most part, people don’t walk into the brewery and threaten ou r business.”

B5 is located where Infusion Brewing Co. used to sit. In fact, it was Infusion’s owner, Bill Baburek, who suggested Aaron and Kate buy the space and start their own brewery. “I talked to my wife and kids over a nice dinner,” Aaron shared. “I said, ‘We have the opportunity to buy a brewery,’ and everyone said they were in. What I felt enlightened by was they were taking on my passion. It’s becoming our passion, it’s a little different when you turn your hobby into your career, but overall, I’d say it’s been good.”

Where Everybody Knows Your

Name

Aaron and Kate have been married for nearly 30 years and both have full-time jobs outside the brewery. Aaron drives to Lincoln daily for work but can typically be found most nights at the brewery, chatting with customers and watching soccer. Though Kate tries to compel Aaron to take some time off, “I don’t mind coming in,” he said. “My wife’s like, ‘Take Monday off !’ but it’s quiet. I can focus and get some stuff done.” When asked about the hours of B5 Brewing Company, Aaron rattled off the official operating hours but added that he’s been known to sneak in on a Monday night (the night they’re closed) or two.

Benson’s a thriving scene, with ample options for pedestrians looking for an entertaining time. Aaron isn’t intimidated by the competition of the other nearby establishments, but instead enjoys the Benson vibe as a whole. He and Kate lived in a nearby home decades ago and have watched as Benson has transformed and evolved. If anything, he said their main competition is probably the numerous CBD shops that have sprouted up around the metro area.

“It’s not just weed; it’s drinks and gummies. It’s accessibility–it’s so much easier,” Aaron said. But what the CBD shops lack is the community that is forming at B5 Brewery, one where people feel welcome and aren’t apprehensive to ask questions about how the beer is made, what’s in it, and what they shou ld try next.

“I’ve come to enjoy seeing our ‘regulars’ that come into the brewery,” Kate added. “It’s a blessing to say that we already have people who come in on a regular basis to sit and drink and talk to us, enjoying the beer that we put out.” Th at beer includes 17 beers on tap that are intentionally placed to offer ample choices to customers.

When a new customer visits and isn’t sure which beer to try, Aaron runs them through a standard gamut of questions. Do they like light or dark beer? Do they like hoppy beer or one that’s not so hoppy? From there, Aaron can give a personalized recommendation that leads a customer in the direction of their new favorite beer.

As for Aaron, when the time comes for him to relax with a beer, he prefers “heavy beers” that he can sip on, laughing as he referred to himself as a “malt monkey.” B5 Brewing’s Raw Dog lager is an excellent example of this type of ale, with hints of both chocolate and cof fee flavors.

“Obviously, running a business is challenging,” Kate said, “and doing it with your family can make it doubly so at times. But we still love each other, still are learning from each other, and growing in ways we didn’t expect.”

To learn more, visit b5brewco.com.

A M editerranean Adventure in the Old Market

Dining Review

The Muse of History Mostly Insp ires at Clio

HarissaTrout

n ancient Greek mythology, Clio was the muse of history. A daughter of Zeus, her name translates as “to make famous” or “to celebrate.” People were certainly celebrating when we visited a packed Clio, the new Mediterranean-inspired restaurant that’s generating buzz and fully-booked reservations in the heart of the Old Market. The latest establishment from the Flagship Restaurant Group, Clio promises to whisk you away on an adventure, all the while, of course, staying close to home. While our evening wasn’t as memorable as the one we enjoyed at the recently-opened Memoir—also a Flagship enterprise—it had some highlights worthy of a potent ial revisit.

Stepping across the threshold is immediately transportive. Alley Poyner Macchietto Architecture worked with the Flagship Restaurant Group to make the focus bright whites, colorful tiles, pastel-upholstered booths, and woven hanging tapestries, all of which combine to create an atmosphere that harkens to a Greek island getaway while situating the restaurant as a fi rmly contemporary take on classical interiors you might visit on Corfu, Santorini, Crete, or Mykonos. Most breathtaking is the large column of climbing vines and flowers in the middle of

the dining room that wind upward to create a vibrant canopy. Right now, it makes one feel as if you’re dining al fresco overlooking the Mediterranean ocean, although I couldn’t help but wonder about the cleaning protocol. I could imagine the dust build-up on every curled bud after only a few months.

For starters, my dining companion and I began with a selection of four different dips, or spreads, served with piping hot house-made sourdough pita bread straight from the oven. For us, this proved a dining highlight. The four dips included hummus, muhammara, labneh, and baba ganoush. The hummus was a prefect blend of chickpeas, parsley, roasted garlic, and olive oil. Tangy and bright, this dip had a luscious consistency with the roasted garlic bringing just the right mellowness to the blend. The muhammara, a roasted red pepper and walnut spread that originated from the Levant, was a real treat. Somewhat similar to Spain’s beloved romesco sauce, muhammara is an ideal blend of tart and tangy with an accompanying kick of spice. Th is interpretation featured walnuts, mint, parsley, pomegranate, piquillo pepper, and Aleppo chili. Th is lively, vibrant blend was a fl avor revelation of competing, complex fl avors combining into a harmonic whole.

Th e yogurt based labneh, in contrast, was cool and tangy while simultaneously creamy and deliciously rich. It was seasoned with Za’atar, an earthy, aromatic spice blend that’s known for its culinary versatility. While Za’atar spice mixes diff er depending on region, it typically includes oregano, marjoram, thyme, cumin, sumac, sesame, and coriander and is frequently used to season dips. Punctuated with chives, this take on labneh was velvety and thick, a cut above sour cream that opened our taste buds and paired perfectly with the other dips. Th e fi nal selection in our “dip fl ight” was smoky, savory baba ganoush, composed of tahini, roasted tomatoes, yogurt, pomegranate pickled chili, dill, and yogurt. While typically made with charred eggplant, the switch to tomatoes was a welcome innovation. Th at, paired with the nuttiness of the tahini, made for a memorable creamy spread. Unsurprisingly, we ordered extra pita bread and left not a smear of any of this qua rtet behind.

For our mezze, or appetizers, we selected merguez sausage stuffed dates and the crispy potatoes. Wrapped with smoked prosciutto and fl avored with piquillo-pepper tomato sauce, the dates came with thick wedges of toasted Turkish bread. Merguez is usually made with lamb, underscoring the steep population of sheep in this region relative to cattle. Spicy, sweet, and earthy, this sausage complemented the dates beautifully for a fl avor-packed starter. The crispy potatoes, prepared with pecorino cheese, lemon aioli, Za’atar, and Aleppo Chile, weren’t executed quite as well as they could have been. It’s easy to believe that there’s no such thing as “too much cheese,” the pecorino and aioli overwhelmed and combined into a glutinously gooey mixture that didn’t allow the potatoes to dominate as they should have.

Aa we moved on to our main dish or “large plates,” we opted for the harissa trout and the beef kofta kabob. Both sounded tempting, but didn’t quite live up their promised menu descriptions. Harissa is a red chili paste frequently used in North African cooking. Having spent time in Tunisia and treated to dinners at the homes of Tunisian friends, it’s one of our favorite ingredients. Th is version didn’t quite have the kick as other iterations we’ve enjoyed. Secondly, the choice of trout didn’t pair as well with the harissa as a fi rmer fi sh might have done. The skin was so crispy, that the harissa didn’t permeate the trout enough to create the flavoring blend we anticipated. The beef kefta, which featured a piquillo pepper purée and a charred jalapeño blend, was certainly enjoyable, but I wouldn’t return for that dish specifically. The favors just didn’t combine for a memorable dish in the way that made it stand it, and the fl avors were surprisingly fl at. Next time, we would be more likely to order the shawarma-spiced half chicken and lamb tajine for a second go.

Service throughout the evening was quick, friendly, and efficient. Our server was prompt to refi ll water, bring us more hot pita bread, and check on drinks. (We opted for Mythos Hellenic lager, which is bright and refreshing and a suitable pairing for everything we ordered.) The manager even stopped by to check on our experience, an increasingly rare event in the restaurant trade, and a very welcoming touch during our visit.

Clio certainly had some high notes—we would return for another sampling of dips and dates, but the kitchen has some refining to do, which as a member of the Flagship Restaurant Group, I’m certain it can accomplish. The muse of history didn’t quite make our visit a historical one, but she is exerting her influence, so Clio is a restaurant to watch.

For more information, visit xoxoclio.com.

Ele Chocolates

Science & Chocolate Ele-mental to Health

Cordial Cherry, located at the Shops of Legacy in Wright Plaza, is wellknown for decadent chocolate-covered cherry cordials and hand-painted designer chocolate truffles. The creation of owner and chocolatier Melissa Stephens, the exquisite offerings wrapped in beautiful packaging have even received national attention, landing on O: The Oprah Magazine’s 2013 list of “Favorite Things.”

Stephens has worked hard for her favorite thing. She was a science teacher and a mother working toward her doctorate, searching for a way to finance her chocolate business. Her grandmother granted permission to use her cherry cordial recipe, and Stephens began to sell cherry cordials at boutiques around town. In 2010, she opened a brick-andmortar chocolate shop with just $3,000 while still teaching. The goal was to make hand-sculpted chocolate packaged in beautiful boxes tied with ribbon and greenery. As Stephens said, “It must be pretty!”

Pretty, however, can also be practical.

A few years ago, Cordial Cherry regular Tim Brummels, CEO of Synbiotic Health, approached Stephens with an intriguing pitch: to make a probiotic chocolate.

The scientists at Synbiotic Health were trying to figure out why metabolic disorders had been on the rise over the past few decades. According to Brummels, as our foods became more processed, the dietary fiber was removed and replaced with sugar. The average Western diet only has 5 grams of dietary fiber a day instead of the 25-35 grams needed to maintain a healthy gut. This dietary fiber feeds the bacteria in the gut, so the lack of fiber has caused many people to experience what’s called a “leaky gut syndrome,” a proposed digestive condition in which intestinal lining allows bacteria and other toxins to permeate into the bloodstream.

70% of the immune system resides in the gut, yet many people use probiotics, and still suffer from metabolic disorders. Synbiotic Health set out to create a second-generation probiotic strain. The two strains were

discovered and clinically tested by UNL researchers. They are human-gut native, meaning they naturally reside in the human gut, whereas most probiotics on the market derive from soil and plants. The human gut native strains are more effective in healing the human gut microbiome.

After Synbiotic Health commercialized the strand, they needed a food product to contain it. Chocolate has zero water activity, and it stabilizes the probiotics. Brummels contacted Stephens to make this new product in a supplement form. “Melissa approached this project as a scientist. She said to me, ‘Show me the science.’ She took the P.h.D. publications of our research and read them. She came to Lincoln to tour our labs. She was excited,” Brummels said.

Stephens took her favorite melt-away recipe and got to work to create Ele Chocolates. It took about two years to get the process right. The product is gluten free, 100% organic, and made with fair trade chocolate. There are no fillers added. The Ele Chocolate bites are created with just the essentials that are “elemental to your health.”

According to Stephens, Ele comes from the word “elemental” because of the science behind the chocolate probiotics. But Ele also stands for elegant.

The Ele Bites include 70% Peruvian dark chocolate, coconut oil, Bifidobacterium adolescentis, Bifidobacterium longum, Inulin, and xylooligosaccharides. It’s a heady list, but studies have shown that the probiotics are clinically studied to support both digestive and immune health.

DINING FEATURE

“Everyone knows that dark chocolate is good for you. Yet many chocolate manufacturers strip out the nutrients and add other additives in their chocolates that diminish the good qualities of the chocolate,” Stephens explained.

“When your gut health is in balance, the rest of your body can be in balance. The gut is called the ‘second brain’ because it produces all our serotonin and dopamine,” Stephens continued. One thing that sets Synbiotic Health’s product apart from other probiotics is that the company “tests” them on humans by sending samples regularly to evaluate bioactivity.

“We did a three-day test trial, and yes, 99% of the participants reported an overall improvement in their gut health within just a few days. With longer use, most reported improvements in immune health, brain health, and skin health,” Stephens said.

Stephens’ daughter, Hannah Humeniuk, had always struggled with eczema, and she suggested that she try the Ele Chocolate Bites to see if they would help.

“We never knew what triggered my eczema,” Humeniuk shared. “I tried a keto diet and restricting gluten. I started taking the probiotics, and after a month, the eczema was gone. Then I had two months off, and it all came back. These two strains are amazing. With this one chocolate a day, my eczema is completely gone, and I can even eat bread and pasta. I am 100% a case study.”

Humeniuk was impressed by her results, so she partnered with Stephens on the Ele Chocolate product line. Humeniuk, an animator who lives in Pennsylvania, works remotely as the brand director for Ele Chocolates. She handles the creative elements of the website, social media, and packaging, and the animations are her handiwork.

“Part of what Hannah brings to the table is the fun. Most probiotics don’t seem fun. It allows us to tell a story and engage the personality of the product. She has a great way of bringing the product to life that would otherwise be mundane,” Stephens said.

“For me it has been a dream come true. I’ve had many family members work at the Cordial Cherry, including my mom and all my kids. I’m a 3D artist, and Hannah is a sketch artist. When this opportunity to work together came up, it was perfect because she gets to tell her story. It allows us to talk every day. Eventually this will be her business,” Stephens added.

Humeniuk also feels blessed to be a part of the business. “While I’m off on the East Coast, I can still be part of it. I remember when I was 13, and I created a Jack Skeleton cherry. I liked being part of the creative process. This role as the brand director is a way that I can still be connected to my family,” Humeniuk said.

What do other Ele Chocolates customers say?

Janet Smidlein’s daughter, Morgan, has always experienced indigestion, which included reflux and digestive sensitivity, and issues eating certain foods. They both decided to try Ele Bites.

“The chocolate has helped Morgan with having less burping and constipation. Her gut feels a lot better,” Smidlein shared. “It has helped me lose weight. It calms my gut. I feel more regular. It’s subtle but when you stop taking them—you really notice a difference. It’s easy. You aren’t choking down pills. The ingredients are good. It’s backed by good science. We feel better and have more energy. For my daughter, it has been a game changer. It just calms her gut.”

Teresa Handle first tasted the chocolates in the fall of 2023 as a sample at the Cordial Cherry. “I loved the taste and decided to start a monthly subscription for myself and my daughter [Melanie Colanino]. Within a few weeks of regular daily consumption, I noticed improved digestion and less bloating after meals. The chocolate has also helped with regularity and has reduced or eliminated indigestion after eating a heavy or spicy meal,” Handle said.

“My stomach has always tended to be a tad sensitive when I eat off my normal routine. Ever since I started taking Ele Bites, I’ve noticed fewer issues when I eat at restaurants and overall, less indigestion,” Colanino added.

When Todd Sales’ daughter Faith was 13, she was in a head-on collision. She almost died, and the accident impacted her intestines. “We saw specialists all over the country. Then a friend told us about Ele Chocolates. After one week she was regular and going to the bathroom every day. The Ele Chocolates have been a miracle for her. It has changed her outlook and confidence,” Sales said.

As the packaging for the Ele Chocolates states, “Ele Chocolates is a labor of love between artisanal chocolatiers and esteemed researchers that are dedicated to developing a probiotic supplement that is effective and nutritious as it is delicious.”

“I have been in the chocolate industry a long time. There is no other company focusing on high-quality chocolates that are gourmet and good for you. This new venture has allowed me to tap into my passion for science and health while also producing a beautiful gourmet product,” Stephens said.

“We want people to indulge in their health,” added Humeniuk.

For more information, visit elechocolates.com.

AMERICAN

DJ’S DUGOUT SPORTS BAR - $

Seven Metro Area Locations:

Bellevue - 10308 S. 23rd St. - 402.292.9096

Miracle Hills - 777 N. 114th St. - 402.498.8855

Downtown - 1003 Capitol Ave. - 402.763.9974

Aksarben - 2102 S. 67th St. - 402.933.3533

Millard - 17666 Welch Plaza - 402.933.8844

Elkhorn - 19020 Evans St. - 402.315.1985

Plattsmouth - 2405 Oak Hill Rd. - 402.298.4166

Voted Omaha’s #1 Sports Bar, DJ’s Dugout is locally and Vietnam Veteran owned. DJ’s Dugout features delicious burgers, wings, wraps, salads, sandwiches and an impressive drink menu. Plus, DJ’s has huge media walls full of HD TVs and projector screens. Catch all the action at DJ’s seven Omaha-area locations. Dig In... At The Dugout! —djsdugout.com

JAMS MODERN AMERICAN- $$

7814 Dodge St. - 402.399.8300

17070 Wright Plz, Ste. 100 - 402.810.9600 1101 Harney St. in the OldMarket - 402.614.9333

Jams is an Omaha restaurant legacy, an “American Grill” that offers a melting pot of different styles and varieties. The dishes are made with high-quality ingredients that pair well with award-winning wines or creative cocktails. —jamseats.com

DINING GUIDE

$=$

DINING GUIDE

LE PEEP - $

69th & Pacific - 402.933.2776

177th and Center St. - 402.934.9914

156th St. & W. Dodge Rd. - 402.408.1728

120th and Blondo St. - 402.991.8222

Le Peep puts a wholesome perspective on your favorite neighborhood breakfast and lunch spot. Fresh. Simple. Elegant. Inviting. We put the emphasis on people, both patrons and staff. We focus on providing each of our guests the fresh food and friendly service that they have come to expect. Open daily 6:30 a.m.-2 p.m. —lepeepomaha.co m

PACIFIC EATING HOUSE - $$ 1130 Sterling Ridge Dr. - 531.999.3777

We have developed our menu inspired by all that touches the Pacific Ocean. Starting with fresh fish flown from Honolulu, locally sourced steaks and natural chicken with an Asian flare and pairing our dishes with tiki libations and Pacific coast wines. —pacificeatinghouse.com

PINE & BLACK BISTRO - $$ 248 Olson Dr., Papillion - 531.999.3777

We opened in March of 2023 to bring a family owned bistro to the community, serving local steaks and fresh seafood. We offer a wide variety of Pacific Northwest wines, local beers, and craft cocktails. Pinot Noir translates to Pine & Black, our name originates from our love of wine.

—pineandblackbistro.com

SAND POINT - $$$

655 North 114th Street Omaha, NE 68154 —531-466-1008

Sand Point ‘New England Fare’ brings their favorite and unique dishes from New England to the Omaha food community. Freshest seafood, from seared crab cakes, lobster arancini, whole belly clams, New England clam chowder, lobster bisque to charcuterie boards and Angus beef tips and steak burgers, to be topped off with Boston cream pie, blueberry pie or Lemon canna cotta. Full bar to include, specialty cocktails, extensive wine lists, as well as beer and non-alcoholic drinks.

–sandpointomaha.com

STELLA’S - $ 106 S. Galvin Road, Bellevue - 402.291.6088

Since 1936, we’ve been making our world-famous Stella’s hamburgers the same way. The family secrets have been handed down to each owner, ensuring that your burger is the same as the one you fell in love with the first time you tried Stella’s. And if it’s your first time, we know you’ll be back! Monday-Saturday 11 a.m.-9 p.m., closed Sunday. — stellasbarandgrill.com

ED AND WALLY’S - $

Come experience the true taste of homemade ice cream in the Old Market. Since 1986, we’ve created gourmet ice cream flavors in small batches using rock salt and ice. We offer your favorites, plus unique flavors like margarita, green tea, Guinness, and French toast. Special orders available. Mon.-Thurs. 11 a.m.-10 p.m., Fri.- Sat. 11 a.m.-11 p.m., Sunday. Noon-10 p.m. —tedandwallys.com

VARSITY SPORTS CAFE - $$

Ralston - 9735 Q St. - 402.339.1944 Bellevue - 3504 Samson Way - 402.932.1944 Millard - 14529 F St. - 402.505.6660

Ralston, Bellevue and Millard. We are truly grateful to have been welcomed into each of these communities and welcome you in for good food, a cold drink and a comfy seat to enjoy the sport of your choosing! Determined to bring only the freshest ingredients, homemade dough and our specialty sauces to the table, we have worked hard to perfect our craft for you. Our goal is to bring the best food service to the area and show the best sports events that you want to see. Pick up and Delivery availalble. Please check website for hours of operation. —varsityromancoinpizza.com

DINING GUIDE

ITALIAN

S PEZIA - $$$

3125 S. 72nd St. - 402.391.2950

Choose Spezia for lunch or dinner, where you’ll find a casual elegance that’s perfect for business guests, get-togethers, or any special occasion. Exceptional food, wine, and service, with a delectable menu: fresh seafood, certified Angus steaks, innovative pasta, risotto, gnocchi, cioppino, lamb, entrée salads, Mediterranean chicken, flatbreads, and fresh salmon daily. Enjoy a full bar, Italian and California wines, Anniversary/Lovers’ Booth (call to reserve), private dining rooms, and wood-fired grill. Open Monday-Sunday. Cocktail hour 4-6 p.m., when all cocktails, glasses of wine, and beers are half price. Evening reservations recommended. —speziarestaurant.com

MEXICAN

FERNANDO’S - $

7555 Pacific St.

- 402.339.8006.

380 N. 114th St. - 402.330.5707

Featuring Sonoran-style cooking made fresh daily. Catering and party rooms also available. Monday-Thursday 11 a.m.-10 p.m., Friday-Saturday 11 a.m.- 11 p.m., Sunday 4-9 p.m. —fernandosomaha.com

LA MESA - $$

158th St. and W. Maple Rd.

- 402.557.6130

156th and Q streets

- 402.763.2555

110th St. and W. Maple Rd.

- 402.496.1101

Fort Crook Rd. and Hwy 370 - 402.733.8754

84th St. and Tara Plaza

- 402.593.0983

Lake Manawa Exit

- 712.256.2762

Enjoy awesome appetizers, excellent enchilada’s, fabulous fajitas, seafood specialties, mouthwatering margaritas and much more at La Mesa! Come see why La Mesa has been voted Best of Omaha’s 20 Years in a Row! Friday-Saturday 11 a.m.-10 p.m., Thursday-Sunday 11 a.m.-9 p.m. —lamesaomaha.co m

“Anytime

THINGS RELATED, BUT DIFFERENT. NATIONS, NORTH AND SOUTH. WE ARE AMERICAN-GROWN WITH MEXICAN ROOTS, PROUDLY CHICANO. FLAVORS, TRADITIONAL AND NEW. WE EVOLVE MEXICAN FAMILY RECIPES WITH OUR OWN MODERN TWIST. CITIES, EAST AND WEST. WITH ROOTS IN COUNCIL BLUFFS AND OMAHA, OUR MEMORIES AND DEDICATION TO THIS COMMUNITY SPAN THE MIGHTY MO. OUR STORY IS A STORY OF COUSINS. OR AS OUR ANCESTORS SAY, PRIMOS. WHERE FAMILY, FLAVOR AND COMMUNITY COME TO THE TABLE.

PRIMO’S OMAHA OFFERS THE LARGEST OUTDOOR HEATED PATIO IN OMAHA OUR STORY

PRIMO’S OMAHA 5914 Center Street | Omaha, NE 68106 402-322-8141

PRIMO’S COUNCIL BLUFFS 930 5th Ave. | Council Bluffs, IA 51501 712-256-5200

Both locations are open for BREAKFAST AT 7 A.M.

DINING GUIDE

PRIMO’S MEXICAN RESTAURANT - $$

5914 Center St., Omaha, NE - 402.322.8141

930 5th Ave., Council Bluffs, IA - 712.256.5200

Family owned and operated since 2010, Primo’s Modern Mexican utilizes the freshest ingredients to bring both authentic Mexican and Southwest-style dishes to life with flare and unrivaled flavor. With recipes passed down over four generations, a familyfriendly atmosphere, and plates to satisfy cravings at every hour—with breakfast, lunch, and dinner menus offering a variety of Mexican staples—Primo’s Mexican Restaurant is proud to serve the people of Omaha and Council Bluffs no matter the occasion. —primosmodernmexican.com

SPECIAL DINING

GREEK ISLANDS - $ 3821 Center St. - 402.346.1528

Greek cuisine with specials every day at reasonable prices. We are well-known for our gyro sandwiches and salads. We cater and can accommodate a party for 65 guests. Carry-out and delivery available. Monday-Thursday 11 a.m.-9 p.m., Friday-Saturday 11 a.m.-10 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m.-7 p.m. —greekislandsomaha.com

ZEN COFFEE COMPANY - $ West - 132nd and Center Downtown - 25th and Farnam One Pacific Place - Drive Thru Kiosk next to Trader Joes

Zen features over 50 popular drink options including Butter Beer, Honey Bee, Lavender Lady and Sunshine Daydream. Choose from hot or iced lattes, blenders, fruit smoothies and teas! Grab a flight or double cup to try the seasonal features! Delicious pastries and toasts made in house daily. —zencoffeecompany.com

DINING GUIDE

STEAKHOUSES

CASCIO’S - $$

1620 S. 10th St. - 402-345-8313

Cascio’s is Omaha’s No. 1 steakhouse. We have been serving Omaha for 69 years. We feature steaks, chops, seafood, and Italian specialties. We have seven private party rooms, seating for up to 400 people, and plenty of parking. —casciossteakhouse.com

THE

DROVER RESTAURANT & LOUNGE - $$$

2121 S. 73rd St. - 402-391-7440

Famous for the original Whiskey Steak. Truly a oneof-a-kind Midwestern experience. Excellent food, wine, service, and value. Rare...and very well done. LUNCH: Monday-Friday 11 a.m.-2 p.m., DINNER: Monday-Friday 5 p.m.-10 p.m., Saturday 4:30 p.m.-10:30 p.m., Sunday 4:30 p.m.-9 p.m., LOUNGE: Monday-Friday Cocktails only 2 p.m.-5 p.m. —droverrestaurant.com

TWISTED

CORK BISTRO - $$

10370 Pacific St. - 531.999.3777

We arrived in Nebraska from Washington intent on purchasing from farmers, ranchers & fishmongers who share our commitment for wholesome, sustainable fare. Our recipes use the Earth’s bounty the way it is intended ~ Wild and Natural ~ We compliment our dishes, pairing them with exquisite Pacific Northwest wines. –twistedcorkbistro.com

DINING GUIDE LEGEND $=$ 1-10

@The Drover Restaurant & Lounge | Gift Cards Available 2121 S. 73 St. | (402) 391-7440 | DroverRestaurant.com

Lunch M-F 11am-2pm | Dinner M-F 5pm-10 PM Sat 4:30pm-10:30pm • Sun 4:30pm-9pm | Lounge M-F Cocktails Only 2-5pm

O M A H A M AGA Z I N E .C O M

explore.

PLAN A ROAD TRIP!

COMPILED BY Claudia Moomey and Isabella McAtee

DAYTRIPS IN NEBRASKA, IOWA, KANSAS, MISSOURI, AND SOUTH DAKOTA

NEBRASKA

DISNEY'S ALADDIN October 3—8 at Lied Center in Lincoln

The classic animated film comes to life in a thrilling new production filled with unforgettable beauty, magic, comedy and breathtaking spectacle. It’s an extraordinary theatrical event where one lamp and three wishes make the possibilities endless. 402.472.4747 —liedcenter.org

MARISSA MULDER IN “I’LL FOLLOW THE SUN” October 6—8 at Brownville Concert Hall in Brownville

Multiple award-winning songstress Marissa Mulder digs deep into the iconic catalogue of John Lennon and Paul McCartney and puts her unique stamp on infectious songs like “Penny Lane” and haunting ballads like “Julia” and “She’s Leaving Home.” 402.825.3331 —brownvilleconcertseries.com

DUSTY’S PUMPKIN FEST AT THE CODY’S October 7—27 at Buffalo Bill State Historical Park in North Platte Dusty’s Pumpkin Fest is located on the beautiful grounds of Buffalo Bill State Historical Park and features many great family activities. Check out the corn cannons, hay slide, wagon rides, horseback riding, petting zoo, bounce house, fire pits, delicious concessions and more. 308.530.0048 —dustytrailz.biz

HARVEST MOON FALL FESTIVAL

October 7 at Dawes County Fairgrounds in Chadron The Harvest Moon Fall Festival packs a ton of family fun into one daylong event. More than 100 vendors, games and contests will keep the family busy, and for the adults who need a break, the beer garden provides the right refreshments. —harvestmoonfallfestival.org

TASTE OF COLUMBUS October 8 at Ramada in Columbus This spectacular event is an evening for the Columbus community to come out and experience samples of tasty dishes from local restaurants and food vendors, taste a variety of beverages from wine and craft beer distributors and participate in the Signature “Royal Auction” all while supporting two community non-profits. 402.564.2769 —thecolumbuspage.com

ALL HALLOWS’ EVE October 13—14 at Stuhr Museum in Grand Island At Stuhr Museum’s All Hallows’ Eve celebration, guests can stroll along the treat trail to gather goodies from local organizations and businesses. In the Railroad town, guests can stop and listen to ghost stories or grab tasty treats. This is a family-friendly event, and all are encouraged to wear a costume and have a good time. 308.385.5316 —stuhrmuseum.org

BACON & BREWS FOR BOOKS October 14 at Fonner Park in Grand Island Imagination Bacon presents a bacon and brew fest featuring local craft brew and wine samples alongside unique bacon-inspired appetizers. All proceeds will benefit the Heartland United Way Imagination Library Program to ensure all children start kindergarten with a library of their own. 308.382.4400 —visitgrandisland.com

WILLA CATHER 150TH BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION October 14—15 at Brownville Concert Hall in Brownville This birthday celebration will include a theater adaptation of Cather’s “A Resurrection,” dinner and music with a menu inspired by Cather’s novels, a river cruise on the Spirit of Brownville, and more. 402.825.3331 —brownvilleconcertseries.com

OKTOBERFEST! October 20 at Steinhart Lodge in Nebraska City Nothing says fall quite like Oktoberfest. Enjoy an authentic German meal paired with a German beer while dancing to your favorite German music. A cash bar will be available with additional German beers and other drinks. 402.873.8733 —arbordayfarm.org

PUTT PUTT FORE PUPPIES October 20 at Adventure Golf Center in Lincoln Capital Humane Society serves the Lincoln community by sheltering homeless pets, advocating for animal welfare and education the public about responsible pet care. Putt Putt Fore Puppies will raise funds to help care for homeless animals and help them find their forever homes. —event.golfstatus.com

BOO AT THE ZOO October 26—27 at Lincoln Children’s Zoo in Lincoln Boo at the Zoo is Lincoln’s largest trick-or-treat event. The entire family will love stopping at over 40 trick-or-treat booths to get candy, coupons and more. All of the money raised during Boo at the Zoo directly supports the Zoo and its animals. 402.475.6741 —lincolnzoo.org

LIVING HISTORY WEEKEND October 28—29 at Arbor Day Lodge State Historical Park in Nebraska City Living History weekends allow guest to step back in time to see historic trades, talents, and other demonstrations come alive. This weekend is full of Vintage Halloween frivolity as Arbor Day Farm celebrates Halloween history, customs and games throughout the 52-room mansion. 402.873.7222 —arbordayfarm.org

IOWA

OKTOBERFEST September 29—October 1 at the Amana Colonies Guest are invited to enjoy beer, live music, games, German food and so much more all through the colonies. Some festivities include the Official Oktoberfest Keg Tapping Ceremony, performances by the Amana Colonies Folksingers, the Oktoberfest Parade, and a Brat eating contest. The colonies boast a weekend full of polka, smiles, laughter, and brats. 319.622.7622 —amanacolonies.com

RYAN NORLIN GIANT PUMPKIN WEIGH-OFF & PUMPKINFEST CELEBRATION October 7 in Downtown Anamosa Welcome to the Pumpkin Capital of Iowa. Enjoy a true Main Street festival and be a part of the festivities that have drawn thousands to Anamosa since 1989. Some activities include dozens of food and craft vendors, kids’ games, one of the largest parades

in all of Iowa and, of course, giant pumpkins. 319.462.879 —anamosapumpkinfest.com

IOWA STATE FAIR FLEA MARKET

October 7—8 at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines Once a month from October to December, visitors will find antiques, collectibles, home decor, jewelry, purses, bags and more at the Iowa State Fair Flea Market in the newly renovated 4-H Exhibits building. New merchandise and vendors are added monthly, and admission is free. 515.262.3111 —iowastatefiargrounds.org

IOWA FALL HOME EXPO October 11—13 at Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines Whether you’re planning on upgrading your home or need a reliable contractor to fix your leaking roof, the Iowa Home Expo is the spot to find all local remodeling experts. The Iowa Home Expo, hosts local and national exhibitors offering exclusive deals and discounts. You’ll save both time and money attending the Iowa Home Expo! Admission is free. —iowahomeexpo.com

HALLOWEENAPALOOZA October 13—14 at Bridge View Center in Ottumwa The 13th annual Halloweenapalooza (on Friday the 13th) is Iowa’s premiere horror movie film festival and all things halloween celebration. Attendees can enjoy celebrity guests, a costume contest, zombie walk, spooky vendors and much more seasonal fun. —halloweenapalooza.wixsite.com

BACK TO THE FUTURE—THE MUSICAL October 15—20 at Des Moines Civic Center in Des Moines Great Scott! “Back to the Future,” the beloved, cinematic classic is now a Broadway musical with its destination set for Des Moines in 2024.  —desmoinesperformingarts.org/ events

ROSE FARM FALL FESTIVAL October 19 at Rose Farm in Norwalk Rose Farm is a place to find your passion, elevate your knowledge, and take a sabbatical from life. Enjoy live music, pumpkin painting, charcuterie, and cocktails at their annual Fall Festival. —rosefarmstead.com

MISERY October 20—23 at Hope Martin Theatre in Waterloo

Based on the novel by Stephen King. What happens when an author’s “number one fan” rescues him from a car crash and takes them to a secluded house to recuperate? What if that “number one fan” has a bone to pick about how their favorite character was treated? Paul Sheldon will find out what happens in this stage adaptation. 319.291.4494 —wcpbhct.org

GHOULISH GALA October 21 at Salisbury House & Gardens in Des Moines

The Ghoulish Gala fundraiser is sure to be an elegant and ghostly affair. Guest can enjoy a variety of wine, beer, hard seltzers, or signature spooky cocktails as they drift through the historic halls discovering exciting entertainment around each twist and turn. 515.274.1777 —salisburyhouse.org

KANSAS

KC FALL FESTIVAL 2024 September 28—October 27 at KC Pumpkin Patch in Olathe Visit KC Pumpkin Patch for the ultimate Fall experience! Join us on Kansas City’s Family Fun Farm Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, spend the day experiencing adventures as you slide, climb and play your way through 40 acres of fun. With attractions to entertain all ages, the whole family will enjoy the farm fresh air and wide open spaces. You’ve never seen a pumpkin patch like this before! Children 2 years and under have free admission. —kcpumpkinpatch.com

DEAR EVAN HANSEN October 1 at Lied Center of Kansas in Lawrence

Declared “one of the most remarkable shows in musical theatre history” by The Washington Post and “an anthem resonating on Broadway and beyond” by NBC Nightly News, DEAR EVAN HANSEN is the first contemporary musical about connection in the digital age. Contains adult themes, recommended for ages 12 and up. —lied.ku.edu

FOREIGNER October 5 at Azura Amphitheater in Bonner Springs Experience Foreigner in concert, one of the most influential rock bands of the ‘70s and ‘80s. With special guest Loverboy, classic rock fans will not want to miss this unforgettable night. —azuraamp.com

JAPAN FESTIVAL October 5 at Johnson County Community College in Overland Park Hosted by the Heart of America Japan-America Society, the Japan Festival is a one-day event held annually at Johnson County Community College, dedicated to educating and entertaining the Greater Kansas City metro area through an introduction to Japanese culture. —jccc.edu/midwest-trust-center/ events

CHEAP TRICK October 5 at Stiefel Theatre in Salina Cheap Trick are an indisputable American institution, beloved around the globe since 1974 for their instantly identifiable, hugely influential brand of pop rock’n’ roll. The band are true pioneers with an unparalleled streak of certifiably classic tunes. 785.827.1998 —stielfeltheatre.org

PIONEER HARVEST FIESTA 2024 October 6—8 at the Bourbon County Fairgrounds in Fort Scott Visitors are invited to experience educational and historic exhibits, refreshments and live musical entertainment all weekend. All three days are alive with steam engines, blacksmiths, food and flea market vendors, agricultural demonstrations and many other fall activities. —pioneerharvestfiesta.com

WILD ABOUT CRAFTS: SIPS & SELL

CRAFT FAIR October 7 at Rolling Hills Zoo in Salina This event will have a wide variety of vendors with a multitude of handmade items of sale, along with commercial vendors. There will be food trucks, a cash bar, and wine slushies on site for the event. 785.827.9488 —rollinghillszoo.org

ZOOLLOWEEN October 12 at Ralph Mitchell Zoo in Independence Ralph Mitchell Zoo invites one and all to join us for our Zoolloween extravaganza! Bring the kids and trick-ortreat your way through the Zoo! Stop to play some carnival games, enter raffles, and win prizes while you’re at it! Hungry for something other than candy? Pick something up at Miss Able’s Snack Shack! Cost of admission is $2.00 per person, children 2 and under get in free. —travelks.com/event/ zoolloween-(fundraiser)

OZFEST October 14 at Dorothy’s House and The Land of Oz in Liberal Liberal, the official home of Dorothy Gale, celebrates The Wizard of Oz all year long, but it really gears up in October during OzFest. The festival celebrating the anniversary of the movie will include live entertainment, games, costume contests, food and fun. 620.624.7624 —dorothyshouse.com

FINAL FRIDAYS October 27 at Lawrence Art Center in Lawrence On the final Friday of every month, the streets of Downtown Lawrence, the Warehouse District, and random places city wide come alive with a range of arts and culture events . Final Fridays include activities for kids, exhibitions designed to challenge adults, music, dance, and theater for all ages. 785.856.3040 —explorelwarence.com

THE TEMPTATIONS October 30 at Lied Center of Kansas in Lawrence The Temptations, often referred to as American music royalty, are world-renowned superstars of entertainment, revered for their phenomenal catalog of music and prolific career. They are one of the most iconic, bestselling brands in the entertainment world today. While the group has evolved over the years, Dr. Otis Williams has continued to lead the group and carry the torch forward for the next generation of Temptations fans. —lied.ku.edu

MISSOURI

LIBERTY DAYS 2024 October 6—7 at Stars and Stripes National Museum/ Library in Bloomfield Visitors can step back in time and experiences history some to life with a living history timeline adventure. Reenactors and living historians

will embark on a journey from the Revolutionary War to the modern era. There will be food trucks on site to keep everyone fueled up for the day. 573.568.2055 —nssmil.org

ALICE (IN WONDERLAND) October 11—20 at Muriel Kauffman Theater in Kansas City Fall down the rabbit hole and experience Wonderland like never before with the Kansas City Ballet. This captivating production blends ballet and contemporary dance to bring Lewis Carroll’s iconic characters to life in a fresh, visually stunning way. With vibrant costumes, a whimsical score and exceptional choreography, it’s an immersive experience for all ages. —tickets.kauffmancenter.org

BREW AT THE ZOO October 12 at Kansas City Zoo & Aquarium in Kansas City Enjoy an adultsonly (ages 21+) evening of live music and free sampling from more than 35 local breweries and wineries, plus food trucks available to tame your belly's roar! Your 2024 Brew at the Zoo ticket also includes access to GloWild: Legends & Lore, Kansas City Zoo & Aquarium's immersive lantern festival. —kansascityzoo.org/ brew-at-the-zoo

OZFAIRE RENAISSANCE FESTIVAL October 12—13 at Heart of the Ozark Bluegrass Park in West Plains Join us for a weekend of Renaissanceera fun! Music, presentations, vendors and great food. The event also includes armored combat, featuring “Iron Alliance,” Missouri’s best armored combat group! —ozfaire.com

LEGENDS & LANTERNS: A “SPIRITED” JOURNEY THROUGH HALLOWEEN HISTORY October 12—27 at Historic Main Street in St. Charles Finding its inspiration from the past, Legends & Lanterns® offers the vintage charm of Halloween in the 1910s-1930s, to the historical rituals and customs brought to the holiday by the Druids and Victorians, to the ethereal atmosphere depicted in American ghost stories and Brothers Grimm fairy tales. —discoverstcharles.com/events/ legends-lanterns

KANSAS CITY BALLET’S JEKYLL & HYDE October 13—22 at Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts in Kansas City Witness the psychological torment and self-destruction of Henry Jekyll, a morally upright and well-mannered doctor, as he struggles against the vile urges of his alter ego Edward Hyde in Victorian England. This North American Premiere of Val Caniparoli’s newest ballet focuses on the eternal struggle of good versus evil as it plays out within one man. 816.931.8993 —kcballet.org

WITCHES & WINE FESTIVAL October 17 in Hermann Have a Ladies Night Out in beautiful historic Hermann, Missouri! Enjoy wine, food, dancing, vendors, local shops, a costume contest and more. Must be 21+ to attend this event. —visithermann.com/ witches-wine-2024

KORN October 18 at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City With special guests Gojira and Spiritbox, Grammy Award-winning band Korn comes to Kansas City on their 2024 tour of North America. —t-mobilecenter.com/events

WITCHES & WINE 2024 October 19 in downtown Hermann This ladies-only, 21-and-over event in downtown Hermann is the spookiest way for ghoul-friends to go out on the town. The event will feature wine, food, dancing, shopping from vendor sand local shops, a costume contest, karaoke and more. 573.789.0771 —visitherman.com

47TH ANNUAL HANNIBAL FOLKLIFE FESTIVAL October 21—22 in Historic Downtown Hannibal The Hannibal Folklife Festival was created to educate and celebrate Hannibal’s rich history by showcasing traditional craftsmen, artists, food, music and performers in the period setting and architecture of Hannibal’s Historic North Main Street. 573.221.6545 —hannibalarts.com/folklife

OZARKS COIN AND STAMP SHOW AND SALE October 25—26 at Relics Event Center in Springfield At this annual coin show, dealers from several states will be buying, selling, trading U.S. and World coins and currency, gold, silver, tokens, commemoratives, ancients, medals, stamps and other numismatic and philatelic items. —relicsantiquemall.com

HALLOWEEN HAUNT Through October 28 at World of Fun in Kansas City As darkness falls, fear rises when the Overlord calls his army to transform the park into Halloween haunt. This Halloween event allows park guests to experience the thrills of their favorite rides and the chills of extreme haunted attractions as they navigate the fog-filled midways where over 400 monsters lurk to feed off their screams. 816.454.4545 —worldsoffun.com

SOUTH DAKOTA

CRUISER CAR SHOW & STREET FAIR

October 5 at Main Street Square in Rapid City Classic cars will roll into Downtown Rapid City and stay to show off their rides. Shop the swap meet, play in the Kidz Zone, and grab something to eat from a delicious food vendor. Rock out to a free concert in the afternoon, followed by a Car Show Awards Ceremony at Main Street Square. —mainstreetsquare.org

SIOUX FALLS NATIVE AMERICAN

DAY PARADE October 9 at 13th

St. and Phillips Ave. in Sioux Falls

The Sioux Falls Native American Day Parade and celebrations provide hope in continued healthy dialogue on conversations surrounding the well-being of Native Americans and the Sioux Falls community through truth, reconciliation and self-representation. —travelsouthdakota.com/ sioux-falls/events

BREW WALK

October 10 in Downtown

Aberdeen Given the great success of Aberdeen's downtown Wine Walk (held in May), there is now a version craft beer lovers won’t want to miss. Sample local and regional brews, handcrafted and unique. Beer drinkers, this is your opportunity to pair two of the best things in life – shopping and drinking. —aberdeendowntown.org/events

ZOOBOO October 27—29 ay Great Plains Zoo in Sioux Falls

The Great Plains Zoo will thrill kids and adults alike with their Halloween extravaganza. Visitors will

enjoy exploration of the entire zoo, trick-or-treating, hundreds of painted and carved pumpkins, and the Creepy Carousel or Trick-or-Treat Train. 605.367.7003 —greatzoo.org

YANKTON’S HARVEST HALLOWEEN

October 28 in downtown Yankton Guests can have a spooky good time along Walnut Street and in the Meridian District in downtown Yankton at the annual Harvest Halloween. They can enjoy fall and Halloween-themed games, activities, vendors, trick-or-treating, an art market, bands, dances and more. —harvesthalloween.com

OUR FARM, SD Through October 31 in Parker Our Farm is a new Pick Your Own Pumpkin Patch with a corn maze, petting zoo and several other fall favorites. Kids can play around all weekend on their multiple slides, zip lines, and bounce house. Concessions are available on-site for the perfect fall day. 605.310.1962 —ourfarmsd.wixsite.com

SMELLS LIKE PRE-TEEN SPIRIT

Iam an autodidact.

It’s not something I admit to just anybody, mainly because most people don’t know what an autodidact is. In fact, many would embarrassingly interpret it as something that the nuns warned all of us Catholic boys against. Others would think it implied I was the guy in the service department of a car dealership who pushed the $200 alignment special when all the customer actually needs is a fuse replaced under the dash. Still others think an autodidact is something a didact does all by itself, which is actually close to correct, but not very enlightening.

I am an autodidact.

It means than when I was growing up, the experts had not yet invented the diagnosis of ADHD. It means I, according to all my teachers, was “not working up to his potential.” It means…well, it means, when I was 8 years old, my dad bought the deluxe World Book Encyclopedia set, with gold gilt page edges, and white fake leather-bound covers.

No sooner was the collection on the bookshelf next to the Philco 24” Diamond “D” TV set than I set out to read all 19 volumes including “I-J,” “K-L,” “Q-R,” “U-V,” “W-X-Y-Z,” and the “Reading and Study Guide.” Page after page, I buried myself in those entries—Aardvark to Zymurgy.

Now, I was not completely abnormal; I did play Little League, ride my bike, and go to swimming lessons at the “Y,” but nearly every other moment, as Paul’s remarkably clean grandfather said in “Hard Day’s Night,” I had my nose in those bloody “booooks.” Truth is, if I close my eyes and search my nasal memories, I can still smell that World Book smell. The scent was close to the same as one of my father’s new Oldsmobiles— the tang of chemicals—ink, chrome, leather, and a hint of Detroit in August. By the way, one of my favorite entries was all about the Olfactory Mucosa.

An autodidact is a self-taught person.

Having read through that encyclopedia cover to cover, I was provided with a huge amount of information about Geography—like French West Africa; Philosophy—like Existentialism in French cinema; Politics—like Dag Hammarskjöld; Science—like how ICBMs work; or History—how Algeria won its independence from France; Economics—the impact of hand-made Belgian lace on textile prices; Miscellany—like the flora and fauna of Lake Titicaca; and Art—why Renaissance painters liked egg yolks. I still have most of that data from the 1957 edition in my head. Most of it is hopelessly outdated, tinged with old, discredited ideologies, warped by conventional knowledge that is no longer conventional or even slightly useful knowing. I mean, if I knew then what I know now about plastics, and King Leopold…well, he turned out to have been a bit of a monster, right?

To be precise, I was a peripatetic autodidact.

That means I walked around a lot while I was reading. Like I said, we didn’t know about hyperactivity back in those days. The modern diagnosis now, I’m afraid, does me little good. I seem to have outgrown most of the old symptoms and the medications I take now control inflammation rather than concentration. I’m just glad I finally know why I read that encyclopedia—twice actually. And thus, why I am still a tiresome, boorish knowit-all. Even if most of what I think I know is wrong. Except, of course, for that bit about the Olfactory Mucosa.

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